Breakdown of Das Hindernis wird größer, wenn du davor stehst.
du
you (informal singular)
groß
big / tall
stehen
to stand
werden
to become / to get (change of state)
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
davor
of it (e.g. afraid) / before it
das Hindernis
the obstacle
Questions & Answers about Das Hindernis wird größer, wenn du davor stehst.
Why does this sentence use wird if it doesn't mean "will"?
While werden is used as a helping verb to form the future tense, its standalone meaning is "to become" or "to get" (when describing a change in state). Here, wird größer simply means "gets bigger" or "becomes bigger".
Why do we use davor instead of saying vor ihm or vor es for "in front of it"?
In German, when a preposition refers to an inanimate object or concept (like das Hindernis), you usually combine da- with the preposition to make a "da-word". Since "Hindernis" is a thing, we use davor. You would generally only use vor ihm if you were standing in front of a masculine or neuter living being!
Is Hindernis one of the directional hin- words from this lesson?
No, it's a bit of a false friend here! Even though it starts with the letters hin, das Hindernis (the obstacle) is a noun that comes from the verb hindern (to hinder or prevent). It is not a directional adverb like hinein (into) or hinauf (upwards).
Why does the verb stehst go at the very end of the sentence?
The word wenn (which can mean "if" or "when") is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a dependent clause, which means the conjugated verb (stehst) is forced to the very end of that clause.
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