Breakdown of Falls es einen Stromausfall gibt, zünden wir Kerzen an.
ein
a, an (eine)
wir
we
es gibt
there is / there are
die Kerze
the candle
falls
in case / if (conditional)
der Stromausfall
the power outage
anzünden
to light
Questions & Answers about Falls es einen Stromausfall gibt, zünden wir Kerzen an.
How does falls affect the word order in this sentence?
Because falls is a subordinating conjunction, it pushes the verb gibt to the very end of its clause. Since this entire falls clause acts as the first idea in the sentence, the main clause immediately follows with its verb zünden to keep the main verb in the second position overall.
Could I use wenn instead of falls here?
Yes, you could say Wenn es einen Stromausfall gibt... and it would be perfectly correct. However, falls specifically means 'in case' or 'in the event that'. It emphasizes that the power outage is just a possibility you are preparing for, whereas wenn is the general word for 'if'.
Why is it einen Stromausfall instead of ein Stromausfall?
The phrase es gibt (there is / there are) always takes a direct object in the accusative case. Because Stromausfall is a masculine noun (der Stromausfall), the indefinite article changes to the accusative form einen.
Why is the word an sitting at the very end of the sentence?
This comes from the separable verb anzünden, meaning 'to light' or 'to ignite'. In the main clause, the conjugated part zünden takes the standard verb position, and the prefix an is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
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