Breakdown of Wenn der Zug später kommt, rufe ich an.
ich
I
kommen
to come
der Zug
the train
anrufen
to call (by phone)
spät
late
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
Questions & Answers about Wenn der Zug später kommt, rufe ich an.
How does später work in this sentence?
später means "later". It is the comparative form of the adverb spät (late). Just like in English, German adds "-er" to regular adjectives and adverbs to compare things, which fits right into this lesson!
Why is the verb kommt at the end of the first part?
The word wenn (if/when) is a subordinating conjunction. In German, these words are "kickers" that push the conjugated verb, kommt, all the way to the end of their clause, right before the comma.
Why does the second half say rufe ich instead of ich rufe?
In a German main clause, the verb must be in the second position. The entire wenn clause acts as position one. To keep the verb in position two, rufe has to come immediately after the comma, swapping places with ich. A helpful trick: when a sentence starts with a wenn clause, you usually see a "verb, verb" pattern right across the comma.
Where does the word an at the very end come from?
It belongs to the separable verb anrufen (to call). When you use a separable verb in a regular main clause, the prefix (in this case, an) breaks off from the verb stem (rufe) and moves to the very end of the sentence.
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