Temporal Conjunctions: als, wenn, während, bevor, nachdem, bis, seit | German Grammar

The temporal conjunctions place one event in time relative to another — before, after, during, until, since. They are all subordinating, so they all send the finite verb to the end of the clause; that part is uniform and easy. The hard part is choosing the right one, because German draws distinctions that English collapses into a single word. The most notorious is als versus wenn: English uses "when" for both a one-time past event and a repeated one, but German forces you to pick. Get that wrong and you sound noticeably non-native — which is why it is among the most-corrected intermediate mistakes.

The inventory

Conjunction	Meaning	Relationship in time
als	when	a single, completed event in the past
wenn	when / whenever / if	repeated past ("every time"); all present/future
während	while, during	two things happening simultaneously
bevor	before	the main event precedes the subordinate one
nachdem	after	the subordinate event precedes the main one
bis	until	an end point
seit / seitdem	since	a starting point that still holds
sobald	as soon as	immediately following

All of these are subordinating: the verb goes to the end, and a comma separates the clauses. The rest of this page is about meaning, with special weight on the als/wenn split and the tense sequence that nachdem demands.

als vs wenn: the single most important split

Here is the rule that English speakers must internalize:

als = one specific, completed event in the past. A single occasion. "When I was young," "when I arrived," "when she called" — each a one-off in the past.
wenn = repeated past events ("whenever," "every time") and all present or future times/conditions.

English's single "when" gives you no clue, so you have to ask: Is this a one-time past event? If yes → als. If it is repeated, present, or future → wenn.

Als ich klein war, haben wir jeden Sommer am Meer verbracht.

When I was little, we spent every summer at the sea. (single, framing past situation → als; verb 'war' at the end)

Als ich gestern nach Hause kam, war niemand da.

When I got home yesterday, no one was there. (one specific past event → als; verb 'kam' at the end)

Wenn ich als Kind krank war, hat meine Oma mir immer Suppe gekocht.

Whenever I was ill as a child, my grandma always cooked me soup. (repeated past event → wenn)

Wenn ich Zeit habe, gehe ich gern spazieren.

When(ever) I have time, I like to go for a walk. (present/general → wenn)

The cleanest contrast: Als ich in Berlin war ("when I was in Berlin" — that one time) versus Wenn ich in Berlin war ("whenever I was in Berlin" — each of several times). Same English "when," opposite German conjunctions, opposite meanings.

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For past time, the split is: als = one specific occasion, wenn = repeated/habitual ("every time"). English's single "when" hides this, which is exactly why it is one of the top intermediate errors. The word als signals you it happened once.

Note that wenn also doubles as the conditional "if" (covered on the conditional pages). For present and future, wenn covers both "when" and "if," and context disambiguates.

während — simultaneity

Während means "while" or "during": two things happen at the same time. (As a preposition it also means "during" + genitive, but as a conjunction it links a clause.)

Während ich koche, deckst du bitte schon mal den Tisch.

While I cook, could you set the table already. (informal; two simultaneous actions; verb 'koche' at the end)

Sie hat den ganzen Film geschlafen, während alle anderen geweint haben.

She slept through the whole film while everyone else was crying.

bevor and nachdem — before and after

Bevor ("before") and nachdem ("after") order two events. Bevor says the main-clause event comes first; nachdem says the subordinate-clause event came first.

Putz dir die Zähne, bevor du ins Bett gehst.

Brush your teeth before you go to bed. (informal imperative; verb 'gehst' at the end)

nachdem requires a tense step-back. This is the detail learners miss. Because nachdem says "after X had happened, Y happened," the nachdem-clause names the earlier event, so it must use a tense one step further back than the main clause. The standard pairing is Plusquamperfekt (past perfect) in the nachdem-clause and Präteritum (simple past) in the main clause.

Nachdem wir gegessen hatten, gingen wir spazieren.

After we had eaten, we went for a walk. (nachdem-clause in Plusquamperfekt 'hatten gegessen', main clause in Präteritum 'gingen')

Nachdem der Film zu Ende gewesen war, diskutierten wir noch lange darüber.

After the film had finished, we discussed it for a long time afterwards. (Plusquamperfekt → Präteritum sequence)

In present/future contexts the step-back is from Perfekt to Präsens instead: Nachdem ich gegessen habe, gehe ich los ("After I('ve) eat(en), I'll set off"). Either way, the nachdem-clause is always one tense earlier than the main clause — the grammatical mirror of the fact that its event happened first.

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nachdem is not just "after" — it carries a built-in tense rule. The "after" clause names the earlier event, so it steps one tense back: Plusquamperfekt with a Präteritum main clause (past), or Perfekt with a Präsens main clause (present/future).

bis — until

Bis marks the end point of an action: it continues until the other event happens.

Wir warten hier, bis der Regen aufhört.

We'll wait here until the rain stops. (verb 'aufhört' at the end)

seit / seitdem — since

Seit (or the fuller seitdem) marks a starting point in the past after which something has been true ever since. Because the situation is still ongoing, German typically uses the present tense for an action that began in the past and continues — where English uses the present perfect ("have lived").

Seit ich in München wohne, fahre ich überall mit dem Rad.

Since I've been living in Munich, I cycle everywhere. (present tense 'wohne' for an ongoing situation that started in the past)

Seitdem sie das Studium abgeschlossen hat, arbeitet sie in Hamburg.

Since she finished her degree, she's been working in Hamburg.

Common Mistakes

Using wenn for a single past event — the classic als/wenn error.

❌ Wenn ich gestern ankam, war niemand zu Hause.

Incorrect — a single completed past event needs 'als', not 'wenn'.

✅ Als ich gestern ankam, war niemand zu Hause.

When I arrived yesterday, no one was home.

Using als for a repeated past event — the mirror error.

❌ Als ich Zeit hatte, bin ich früher immer joggen gegangen.

Incorrect — this means 'whenever I had time', a repeated past habit, so it needs 'wenn / immer wenn', not the one-time 'als'.

✅ Wenn ich Zeit hatte, bin ich früher immer joggen gegangen.

Whenever I had time, I always used to go jogging. (repeated past habit → wenn)

Skipping the tense step-back after nachdem — using the same tense in both clauses.

❌ Nachdem wir aßen, gingen wir spazieren.

Incorrect — the 'nachdem' clause names the earlier event and needs Plusquamperfekt: 'gegessen hatten'.

✅ Nachdem wir gegessen hatten, gingen wir spazieren.

After we had eaten, we went for a walk.

Keeping V2 after a temporal subordinator — forgetting that these are all verb-final.

❌ Wir warten, bis der Regen hört auf.

Incorrect — 'bis' is subordinating; the separable verb must go to the end as one unit: 'aufhört'.

✅ Wir warten, bis der Regen aufhört.

We'll wait until the rain stops.

Key Takeaways

All temporal conjunctions are subordinating: the verb goes to the end.
als = a single completed past event; wenn = repeated past ("whenever") and all present/future. This is the top intermediate trap.
während = simultaneous, bevor = before, bis = until, seit/seitdem = since (often with present tense for an ongoing situation).
nachdem demands a tense step-back: Plusquamperfekt + Präteritum (past) or Perfekt + Präsens (present/future).

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