Breakdown of Wenn Sie den Vertrag heute unterschreiben, verpassen wir die Frist nicht.
Sie
you (formal)
wir
we
heute
today
nicht
not
der Vertrag
the contract
verpassen
to miss
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
die Frist
the deadline
unterschreiben
to sign
Questions & Answers about Wenn Sie den Vertrag heute unterschreiben, verpassen wir die Frist nicht.
Why is the verb unterschreiben at the very end of the first part of the sentence?
The word wenn (if/when) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and kicks the conjugated verb—in this case, unterschreiben—to the very end of that clause, right before the comma.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb verpassen? Shouldn't it be "wir verpassen"?
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb must always be in the second position. Here, the entire "if" clause (Wenn Sie den Vertrag heute unterschreiben) acts as the first position. To keep the verb in position two, verpassen has to come immediately after the comma. This is why you often see a "verb, verb" pattern in German sentences with wenn.
Can wenn mean "when" instead of "if" in this sentence?
Yes, wenn can mean both "if" (a condition) and "when" (a present or future event). In this context, it translates best to "if" because signing the contract is a condition for not missing the deadline. However, German uses the exact same word and grammar for both concepts.
Why is it den Vertrag and not der Vertrag?
Vertrag (contract) is a masculine noun. Because it is the direct object of the sentence—it is the thing being signed—it must be in the accusative case. For masculine nouns, the "the" word changes from der to den.
Why is nicht at the very end of the sentence?
When you negate an entire action or idea rather than a specific noun, nicht usually gets pushed to the end of the clause. Here, it is negating the whole action of missing the deadline (die Frist verpassen), so it sits at the very end.
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