Breakdown of Die Mitgliedschaft ist nur gültig, wenn du die Gebühr bezahlst.
sein
to be
du
you (informal singular)
bezahlen
to pay
nur
only
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Mitgliedschaft
the membership
gültig
valid
die Gebühr
the fee
Questions & Answers about Die Mitgliedschaft ist nur gültig, wenn du die Gebühr bezahlst.
Why does the verb bezahlst go at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the word wenn (if). It is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a dependent clause. In German, these types of clauses always send their conjugated verb (here, bezahlst) to the very end of the clause.
Could I use wann or ob here instead of wenn?
No, because they mean different things. Wenn is used for conditions (if) or repeated events in time (whenever). Wann is strictly for asking about time (when?), and ob means whether (for yes/no unknown situations). Since this is a condition (if you pay), wenn is the correct choice.
Is there a trick to remembering that Mitgliedschaft is feminine (die)?
Yes! Any German noun that ends in the suffix -schaft is always feminine. This suffix is very similar to the English suffix '-ship', turning the noun das Mitglied (the member) into die Mitgliedschaft (the membership).
Where does the word gültig (valid) come from?
Gültig is an adjective that comes from the strong verb gelten, which means 'to be valid' or 'to count'. You will often see gültig on things like train tickets, coupons, and contracts.
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