Word
Wenn es früher ein Problem gab, war das Lexikon oft die einzige Lösung.
Meaning
When there was a problem in the past, the encyclopedia was often the only solution.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wenn es früher ein Problem gab, war das Lexikon oft die einzige Lösung.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
oft
often
das Problem
the problem
Questions & Answers about Wenn es früher ein Problem gab, war das Lexikon oft die einzige Lösung.
Why do we use wenn here instead of als, since the sentence is talking about the past?
In German, als is only used for a single, one-time event in the past (like an era of your life or a specific historical moment). For repeated or habitual events in the past, meaning 'whenever', you must use wenn. The word früher (in the past) and the general context tell us that running into a problem was something that happened multiple times.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb war instead of the subject das Lexikon?
This is due to the 'verb second' rule in German. The entire dependent clause (Wenn es früher ein Problem gab) counts as the first block of information. To keep the main verb in the second position, war must come immediately after the comma, pushing the subject das Lexikon to the other side of the verb.
Where does gab come from, and why is it used with es?
It comes from the very common fixed phrase es gibt, which translates to 'there is' or 'there are' in English. gab is the simple past tense (Präteritum) of the verb geben. Therefore, es gab simply means 'there was' or 'there were'.
I thought a dictionary was a Wörterbuch. What exactly is a Lexikon?
You are exactly right! A Wörterbuch is a dictionary you use to look up word translations or spellings. A Lexikon usually refers to an encyclopedia, where you look up broader facts and concepts to solve a problem. It can also refer to a highly specialized reference book.