ob und wenn (condition)
Aim of this section is to learn the correct use of ob and wenn.
| German | English |
| Weißt du, ob er uns bald besucht?
Wenn du Lust hast, kannst du raus gehen.
Du wirst Arbeit finden, wenn du gut Deutsch sprichst.
| Do you know if he is going to visit us soon?
If you feel like doing you can go outside.
You will find a job if you speak German well. |
There are 2 words in German to express the English word if.
- Wenn is used in conditional sentences.
The translation which describes "wenn" best is: if / in case. |
examples
- Wenn er nicht bald kommt, gehen wir ohne ihn aus. (If he won't come soon will we go out without him.)
- Wenn es morgen regnet, bleiben wir zu Hause. (If it's raining tomorrow we will stay at home.)
- Du kannst deine Freunde mitbringen, wenn du möchtest. (You can bring along your friends if you want.)
- Ich mache eine große Reise, wenn ich im Lotto gewinne. (I'm going to do a long journey if I hit the lottery jackpot.)
- Ob is also used in conditional sentences.
- Ob is only used in questions / indirect "questions" with yes/no answer.
- Ob usually occurs only in the 2nd sentence.
The translation which describes "ob" best is: whether. |
examples:
- Weißt du, ob Julia krank ist? (Do you know if / whether Julia is ill?)
- Kannst du mir sagen, ob wir Hausaufgaben haben? (Can you tell me if / whether we have homework?)
- Er ist nicht sicher, ob er die Prüfung bestehen wird. (He is not sure if / whether he will pass the exam.)
- Ich möchte wissen, ob Sie das Auto schon repariert haben. (I'd like to know if / whether you've repaired the car already.)
- Ich weiß nicht, ob meine Eltern kommen. (I don't know if / whether my parents are coming.)
As you can see indirect "questions" are in fact statements!
Actually, they are the answer to a question with a yes/no answer.
- question: Weißt du, ob deine Eltern kommen? (Do you know if / whether your parents are coming?)
- answer: Ich weiß nicht, ob meine Eltern kommen. (I don't know if / whether my parents are coming.)
Besides the meaning of "if" wenn has a second meaning (=when).
For further infomation go to als, wann und wenn.
summary - documents for your folder |
Cathy & Tom 
