Breakdown of Der Verein ist nett, obwohl er teuer ist.
sein
to be
er
he
teuer
expensive
obwohl
although
nett
nice
der Verein
the club
Questions & Answers about Der Verein ist nett, obwohl er teuer ist.
Why is the verb ist at the very end of the sentence?
The word obwohl (although) is a subordinating conjunction. In German, these types of connecting words force the conjugated verb in their part of the sentence (in this case, ist) to move all the way to the end.
Why does the sentence use er to mean "it" instead of es?
The pronoun er refers back to der Verein. Because Verein is a masculine noun, you must use the masculine pronoun er to refer to it. If you used es, a German speaker would instinctively be looking for a neuter noun.
Do I always need a comma before obwohl?
Yes! Unlike in English where commas before "although" can sometimes be optional, German strictly requires a comma to separate the main clause (Der Verein ist nett) from a subordinate clause (the part starting with obwohl).
What happens to the word order if I start the sentence with obwohl?
If you start the sentence with the obwohl clause, the main clause right after the comma must start with its verb. It would look like this: Obwohl er teuer ist, ist der Verein nett. Think of the entire obwohl part as taking up the first position, so the verb of the main clause comes right after the comma to take the second position.
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