Word
Wenn die Wunde wehtut, brauchst du einen Verband.
Meaning
If the wound hurts, you need a bandage.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wenn die Wunde wehtut, brauchst du einen Verband.
ein
a, an (eine)
du
you (informal singular)
brauchen
to need
wehtun
to hurt
Questions & Answers about Wenn die Wunde wehtut, brauchst du einen Verband.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb brauchst?
Because the sentence starts with a Wenn clause! In German, a subordinate clause (like Wenn die Wunde wehtut) acts as a single block that takes up the first "position" in the sentence. Since the main verb must always be in the second position, brauchst has to come right after the comma. A handy trick to remember this pattern is the "verb, comma, verb" rule.
I thought wehtun (to hurt) was a separable verb. Why isn't it split up here?
You're exactly right that it's separable! In a normal main clause, it splits (like Die Wunde tut weh). However, conjunctions like wenn push the conjugated verb to the very end of their clause. When the verb (tut) gets pushed to the end where its prefix (weh-) is already waiting, they join back together into a single word: wehtut.
Why is it einen Verband and not just ein Verband?
The word Verband is a masculine noun (der Verband). Because it is the direct object in the sentence—the thing being needed—it has to be in the accusative case. For masculine nouns, the "a/an" word changes from ein to einen in the accusative.
How could I use sollte here to give polite advice, like "If the wound hurts, you should use a bandage"?