Breakdown of Als der Täter an den Prozess dachte, war er hoffnungslos.
sein
to be
er
he
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
denken
to think
als
when (past single event)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Täter
the perpetrator, the culprit
der Prozess
the trial
hoffnungslos
hopeless
Questions & Answers about Als der Täter an den Prozess dachte, war er hoffnungslos.
Why is there an s in the middle of hoffnungslos?
The base noun is die Hoffnung (hope). When combining words or adding suffixes like -los (less), German often adds a connecting letter (called a Fugen-s) to make pronunciation smoother. Nouns ending in -ung almost always take this connecting s, resulting in hoffnungslos.
Why does the sentence use Als instead of Wenn for "When"?
Als is used for a single, specific event or period of time in the past (this specific time he thought about the trial). If the sentence meant "whenever" he thought about it (a repeated past event), it would use wenn.
Why does it say an den Prozess dachte instead of translating "about" with über?
The verb denken (to think) specifically pairs with the preposition an when referring to having someone or something in mind. This combination always requires the accusative case, which is why the masculine noun der Prozess changes to den Prozess.
Why does the verb war come immediately after the comma?
The entire first part of the sentence (Als der Täter an den Prozess dachte) acts as a dependent clause that takes up the first position in the main sentence. Because the main verb must stay in the second position (the V2 rule), war must come right after the comma, followed by the subject er.
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