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### Weather Permitting

When organizing weekend activities like a picnic (*das Picknick*) or a bike tour (*die Radtour*), you often have to keep an eye on the weather. If the weather is unsettled (*unbeständig*), your plans might need a backup.

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### Making Exceptions with *es sei denn*

To express that a statement is true **except** under a specific condition, German uses the phrase **es sei denn** (unless).

When you use **es sei denn**, it is typically followed by a standard main clause. This means the conjugated verb stays in its normal position (position 2). Always separate the **es sei denn** clause from your main statement with a comma.

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### Pushing the Verb with *es sei denn, dass*

You will also frequently hear and read **es sei denn, dass** (unless). Adding **dass** does not change the meaning, but it does change the word order. 

Because **dass** is a subordinating conjunction, it kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause.

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Unless (es sei denn)

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 forecast	die Vorhersage
unsettled	unbeständig
The forecast for the weekend is unfortunately unsettled.	Die Vorhersage für das Wochenende ist leider unbeständig.
to reschedule	umplanen
unless	es sei denn
We do not have to reschedule, unless the forecast is wrong.	Wir müssen nicht umplanen, es sei denn, die Vorhersage ist falsch.
to risk	riskieren
the picnic	das Picknick
Tom is risking the picnic, especially since he has already prepared everything.	Tom riskiert das Picknick, zumal er schon alles vorbereitet hat.
the shower (rain)	der Schauer
A short shower will not destroy the picnic.	Ein kurzer Schauer wird das Picknick nicht zerstören.
to barbecue	grillen
the beer garden	der Biergarten
The family is barbecuing in the garden, unless they go to the beer garden.	Die Familie grillt im Garten, es sei denn, sie geht in den Biergarten.
The weather is unsettled, but we risk it and barbecue.	Das Wetter ist unbeständig, aber wir riskieren es und grillen.
the bike tour	die Radtour
My partner is doing the bike tour, unless it rains.	Mein Partner macht die Radtour, es sei denn, dass es regnet.
You are rescheduling the party, unless the beer garden has a roof.	Ihr plant die Party um, es sei denn, der Biergarten hat ein Dach.
We are neither doing the bike tour nor barbecuing during a shower.	Weder machen wir die Radtour, noch grillen wir bei einem Schauer.
The tourists are hiking, no matter if the forecast is bad.	Die Touristen wandern, egal ob die Vorhersage schlecht ist.
The children are staying indoors, unless the sun is shining.	Die Kinder bleiben drinnen, es sei denn, die Sonne scheint.
I am staying at home, unless the shower ends quickly.	Ich bleibe zu Hause, es sei denn, dass der Schauer schnell endet.