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### The conjunctions "seit" and "seitdem"

To express that a situation has been ongoing since a certain event occurred, use the subordinating conjunctions **seitdem** or **seit** (since / ever since). Both words mean exactly the same thing when connecting two clauses.

Because they are subordinating conjunctions, they send the conjugated verb to the very end of their clause. When the *seitdem* clause comes after the main clause, the main clause uses standard word order.

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If you start the sentence with the *seitdem* clause, that entire clause takes up the sentence's "first position." To keep the main clause's verb in its required second position, the verb must immediately follow the comma.

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### Using "seit"

While you may already know **seit** as a preposition, it also works perfectly as a shorter alternative to *seitdem* for connecting full clauses.

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### Separable verbs and perfect tense

The verb-final rule has a neat effect on separable verbs in a subordinate clause. Because the conjugated verb gets pushed to the very end of the sentence—exactly where its prefix usually sits—the two parts reunite into a single, continuous word.

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If the *seit* or *seitdem* clause is in the perfect tense, the conjugated helping verb (like *haben* or *sein*) is pushed to the very end, placing it immediately after the past participle.

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The conjunction since (seitdem)

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
since	seitdem
the pension / the retirement	die Rente
the free time	die Freizeit
Ever since I started getting my pension, I have had a lot of free time.	Seitdem ich die Rente bekomme, habe ich viel Freizeit.
around	um
the world	die Welt
He has been traveling the world ever since he retired.	Er reist um die Welt, seitdem er in Rente ist.
since (conjunction)	seit
married	verheiratet
Ever since we got married, we have lived in this house.	Seit wir verheiratet sind, wohnen wir in diesem Haus.
the hobby	das Hobby
the grandchild	das Enkelkind
to grow up	aufwachsen
Ever since the grandchildren have been growing up, we have had a new hobby.	Wir haben ein neues Hobby, seitdem die Enkelkinder aufwachsen.
to get to know	kennenlernen
Ever since they met, they have been traveling the world.	Seitdem sie sich kennengelernt haben, reisen sie um die Welt.
the old age / the age	das Alter
My age has not been a problem ever since I've had this hobby.	Mein Alter ist kein Problem, seit ich dieses Hobby habe.
The grandchildren that I often visit are growing up very fast.	Die Enkelkinder, die ich oft besuche, wachsen sehr schnell auf.
Ever since he stopped working, he has had more free time.	Seitdem er nicht mehr arbeitet, hat er mehr Freizeit.
Have they been married since they started living in Germany?	Sind sie verheiratet, seitdem sie in Deutschland wohnen?
Ever since they saw the world, they have been happy.	Seitdem sie die Welt gesehen haben, sind sie glücklich.
Ever since they bought the house, they have been living here.	Seitdem sie das Haus gekauft haben, wohnen sie hier.
Ever since we retired, we have often laughed together.	Seitdem wir in Rente sind, haben wir oft zusammen gelacht.
Since we enjoy old age, we want to get to know the world.	Seitdem wir das Alter genießen, wollen wir die Welt kennenlernen.

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