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### Shortened Subordinate Clauses (Ellipses)

In formal or professional contexts—like strict hygiene regulations—German often uses concise, shortened subordinate clauses (*verkürzte Nebensätze*).

If the subject of a subordinate clause is exactly the same as the subject of the main clause, you can omit the subject and the verb (usually a form of *sein* or *werden*). This leaves just the conjunction and the core adjective or participle. The shortened clause typically sits at the beginning of the sentence, immediately followed by the conjugated verb of the main clause.

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This structure works seamlessly with other conjunctions too, such as *sobald* (as soon as) and *obwohl* (although). 

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Fixed phrases like *wenn möglich* (if possible) are also built this way, and are so common that they are used even when the subject doesn't perfectly match the main clause.

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### Explaining Methods with "dadurch, dass"

To explain *how* a rule is followed or a goal is achieved, English often uses "by" followed by an "-ing" verb (e.g., "by disinfecting"). German expresses this with a two-part structure: a main clause containing *dadurch* (thereby), followed by a subordinate clause starting with *dass* (that).

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### Arranging the Details (TeKaMoLo)

When a German sentence contains multiple adverbs or prepositional phrases, they follow a standard order in the middle of the sentence known as **TeKaMoLo**:

- **Te**mporal (Time: When?)
- **Ka**usal (Cause: Why?)
- **Mo**dal (Manner: How?)
- **Lo**kal (Place: Where?)

Notice how perfectly the details align in this sequence, moving from time to cause, then manner, and finally place:

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Elliptical subordinate clauses

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 poultry	das Geflügel
If raw, the poultry is by no means safe.	Wenn roh, ist das Geflügel keineswegs sicher.
the cutting board	das Schneidebrett
If possible, cut the poultry on another cutting board.	Wenn möglich, schneiden Sie das Geflügel auf einem anderen Schneidebrett.
We protect health by thoroughly disinfecting the cutting board.	Wir schützen die Gesundheit dadurch, dass wir das Schneidebrett gründlich desinfizieren.
the cold chain	die Kühlkette
to interrupt	unterbrechen
The cook unfortunately interrupted the cold chain in the kitchen early today.	Der Koch hat die Kühlkette heute früh leider in der Küche unterbrochen.
If interrupted, the cold chain is completely worthless.	Wenn unterbrochen, ist die Kühlkette völlig wertlos.
the expiration date	das Verfallsdatum
to exceed	überschreiten
We must by no means exceed the expiration date.	Wir dürfen das Verfallsdatum keineswegs überschreiten.
perishable	verderblich
The meat is very perishable if the expiration date is near.	Das Fleisch ist sehr verderblich, wenn das Verfallsdatum nah ist.
If perishable, the food must go quickly into the fridge.	Wenn verderblich, muss das Lebensmittel schnell in den Kühlschrank.
the health department	das Gesundheitsamt
according to regulations	vorschriftsmäßig
The health department checks whether everything is according to regulations.	Das Gesundheitsamt kontrolliert, ob alles vorschriftsmäßig ist.
The health department prevents the danger by closing the restaurant.	Das Gesundheitsamt vermeidet die Gefahr dadurch, dass es das Restaurant schließt.
If expired, the milk is dangerous.	Wenn abgelaufen, ist die Milch gefährlich.
to thaw	auftauen
We are slowly thawing the fish in the basin today because of the inspection.	Wir tauen den Fisch heute wegen der Kontrolle langsam im Becken auf.
As soon as thawed, the fish is not fresh at all anymore.	Sobald aufgetaut, ist der Fisch gar nicht mehr frisch.
You avoid the problem by frying the poultry well.	Sie vermeiden das Problem dadurch, dass Sie das Geflügel gut braten.
Although according to regulations, this solution does not please me at all.	Obwohl vorschriftsmäßig, gefällt mir diese Lösung überhaupt nicht.
One complies with the regulation by never exceeding the expiration date.	Man hält die Vorschrift dadurch ein, dass man das Verfallsdatum nie überschreitet.
The boss secretly called the health department to the company yesterday because of the danger.	Der Chef hat das Gesundheitsamt gestern wegen der Gefahr heimlich in die Firma gerufen.
We are thoroughly checking the cutting board in the lab right now because of the rules.	Wir prüfen das Schneidebrett jetzt wegen der Regeln gründlich im Labor.