Breakdown of Seitdem sie sich kennengelernt haben, reisen sie um die Welt.
haben
to have
sie
they
reisen
to travel
sich
oneself / himself / herself / themselves (reflexive pronoun)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
seitdem
since
um
around
die Welt
the world
kennenlernen
to get to know
Questions & Answers about Seitdem sie sich kennengelernt haben, reisen sie um die Welt.
Why is haben at the very end of the first part of the sentence?
The word seitdem (ever since) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and forces the conjugated verb (in this case, haben) to the very end of that clause, right before the comma.
Why does the second part say reisen sie instead of sie reisen?
In a German main clause, the verb must be in the second position. The entire first clause (Seitdem sie sich kennengelernt haben) acts as block number one. Therefore, the verb reisen must come immediately after the comma to take the second position, pushing the subject sie behind it.
The English translation says 'have been traveling', but reisen is in the present tense. Why?
This is a major difference between English and German! If an action started in the past and is still continuing today, English uses the present perfect continuous ('have been doing'). German simply uses the present tense. Because they are still traveling right now, German uses the present tense reisen.
What is the word sich doing in sie sich kennengelernt haben?
The verb kennenlernen means 'to get to know' or 'to meet'. Here, sich is a reflexive pronoun meaning 'each other'. So, sie sich kennengelernt haben literally translates to 'they got to know each other'.
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