Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

### Concessive Clauses with *so ... auch*

To emphasize a strong contrast—like staying at a post despite harsh isolation—German uses a dependent clause with **so** and **auch**. 

This expresses concepts like "As old as the lighthouse is..." or "However old the lighthouse is...". The formula is:

**so** + [Adjective/Adverb] + Subject + ... + **auch** + [Conjugated Verb]

As a dependent clause, the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end. Normally, starting a sentence with a dependent clause forces the following main clause to begin with its verb. However, a *so ... auch* clause acts as an exception, leaving the main clause's standard Subject-Verb order intact.

{{item:884878}}

{{item:884881}}

### Emphasizing Extreme Actions

You can also use this structure with adverbs to emphasize *how* or *how long* an extreme action happens. Pair **so** with an adverb like *heftig* (violently) or *lange* (long) to show that extreme conditions have no effect on the outcome.

{{item:884885}}

{{item:884888}}

### Everyday Challenges

Whether dealing with a monotonous routine or freezing sea spray (*die Gischt*), this structure captures the keeper's unyielding endurance.

{{item:884891}}

{{item:884895}}

Concessive clauses (so ... auch)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the keeper	der Wärter
the lighthouse	der Leuchtturm
The keeper loves the hidden lighthouse very much.	Der Wärter liebt den versteckten Leuchtturm sehr.
As old as the lighthouse is, the keeper stays there.	So alt der Leuchtturm auch ist, der Wärter bleibt dort.
isolated	isoliert
the duty (service, shift)	der Dienst
As isolated as the duty is, the keeper likes working.	So isoliert der Dienst auch ist, der Wärter arbeitet gern.
The keeper never dreams of the city, provided that the duty is quiet.	Der Wärter träumt nie von der Stadt, sofern der Dienst ruhig ist.
the severe storm	das Unwetter
to rage	toben
However violently the severe storm rages, the lighthouse remains standing.	So heftig das Unwetter auch tobt, der Leuchtturm bleibt stehen.
The expected severe storm is raging outside.	Das erwartete Unwetter tobt draußen.
to endure	aushalten
However long the severe storm rages, the keeper must endure it.	So lange das Unwetter auch tobt, der Wärter muss es aushalten.
The keeper can endure the loneliness.	Der Wärter kann die Einsamkeit aushalten.
monotonous	monoton
However monotonous everyday life is, he never leaves the island.	So monoton der Alltag auch ist, er verlässt die Insel nie.
The isolated duty is monotonous, but the work saves lives.	Der isolierte Dienst ist monoton, aber die Arbeit rettet Leben.
the sea spray	die Gischt
to whip	peitschen
However high the sea spray whips, the light continues to burn.	So hoch die Gischt auch peitscht, das Licht brennt weiter.
The cold sea spray whips against the tower.	Die kalte Gischt peitscht gegen den Turm.