Breakdown of Wenn der Star heimlich heiratet, ist es doch romantisch.
sein
to be
es
it
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
romantisch
romantic
heiraten
to marry
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
doch
after all / indeed (modal particle)
heimlich
secret / secretly
der Star
the star / the celebrity (famous person)
Questions & Answers about Wenn der Star heimlich heiratet, ist es doch romantisch.
What is the word doch doing in this sentence?
Here, doch is a modal particle that translates best to 'after all' or 'actually.' It shows that the speaker is contradicting an expected opinion. It implies someone else might think a secret wedding is not nice, but the speaker thinks it is romantic after all.
Why does the second part say ist es instead of es ist?
The whole first part of the sentence (Wenn der Star heimlich heiratet) acts as block number one. Because the verb in a standard German main sentence must always be in the second position, the verb ist has to come right after the comma. The subject es then follows the verb.
The translation says 'gets married,' so why is the German just heiratet?
In English, we use the phrase 'gets married' to describe the action. In German, the single verb heiraten covers this completely. You do not need to add any extra words to say that someone is getting married.
Could Wenn also mean 'when' in this sentence?
Yes! Wenn can mean 'if' (a condition) or 'when/whenever' (an event). Here, 'if' fits perfectly because it is a hypothetical scenario. Remember never to use wann here, as wann is only used for direct or indirect questions about time.
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