Breakdown of Wenn ich die Antwort nicht wusste, habe ich sie im Lexikon nachgeschlagen.
ich
I
sie
she
haben
to have
nicht
not
die Antwort
the answer
wissen
to know (a fact)
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Lexikon
the encyclopedia
nachschlagen
to look up
Questions & Answers about Wenn ich die Antwort nicht wusste, habe ich sie im Lexikon nachgeschlagen.
Why use wenn for the past here instead of als?
In German, als is used for a single, specific event in the past. Because looking up an answer happened multiple times (essentially "whenever" you didn't know one), you must use wenn for repeated or habitual past events.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with habe ich rather than ich habe?
The entire wenn clause acts as the first block of information (Position 1) in the main sentence. Because German strictly requires the conjugated verb to be in Position 2, the verb habe must come immediately after the comma, pushing the subject ich to the other side of it.
Why is the first clause in the simple past (wusste) but the second clause in the perfect tense (habe ... nachgeschlagen)?
It is very common in spoken German to mix these! Even when speaking mostly in the perfect tense, Germans prefer to use the simple past (Präteritum) for a handful of very common verbs, especially wissen (to know), sein (to be), haben (to have), and the modal verbs.
Why is the pronoun sie used to mean "it"?
The pronoun sie refers back to die Antwort (the answer). Because Antwort is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine pronoun sie to represent it, even though we just translate it as "it" in English.
What verb does nachgeschlagen come from, and why is the -ge- in the middle?
It comes from nachschlagen, which means "to look up" (in a book or reference). Because it is a separable verb, the -ge- prefix used to form the past participle gets sandwiched between the separable prefix nach- and the base verb schlagen.
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