Breakdown of Egal, ob wir links oder rechts abbiegen, überall tauchen Sackgassen auf.
wir
we
oder
or
rechts
right (direction)
abbiegen
to turn
links
left
ob
whether / if
egal
all the same, not mattering
überall
everywhere
die Sackgasse
the dead end
auftauchen
to appear
Questions & Answers about Egal, ob wir links oder rechts abbiegen, überall tauchen Sackgassen auf.
How does the phrase "Egal, ob..." affect the word order of the first part?
The word ob (whether) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it kicks the conjugated verb—in this case, abbiegen—to the very end of its clause. The word egal (no matter) simply sits at the front to show that the outcome is the same regardless of the choice.
Why doesn't the second half start with the verb "tauchen" right after the comma?
Usually, when a German sentence starts with a subordinate clause, the main clause right after the comma starts with the verb. However, an Egal, ob... phrase often acts as a detached, standalone thought. Because it sits completely outside the main sentence structure, the main clause starts counting its positions from scratch. Therefore, überall takes position 1, and the verb tauchen takes its normal position 2.
Both "abbiegen" and "auftauchen" are separable verbs. Why is only "auftauchen" split up?
Separable verbs only split when they act as the conjugated verb in a standard main clause. That is why tauchen is in position 2 and its prefix auf goes to the very end of the sentence. In the first half, the conjunction ob forces the verb to the end of the subordinate clause. When a separable verb is pushed to the end like this, the prefix and the verb recombine into a single word (abbiegen).
Could I use "wenn" instead of "ob" to mean "if we turn left or right"?
No, you must use ob here. In German, wenn means "if" in the sense of a condition (if A happens, then B will happen). The word ob means "whether" or "if" when you are weighing options or dealing with a yes/no question. Since the sentence talks about choosing between the options of left or right, you must use ob.
What is the literal translation of "Sackgassen"?
The noun Sackgasse means dead end or cul-de-sac. Literally, it is a combination of der Sack (the sack) and die Gasse (the alley). It paints a helpful picture of a street that has an opening at one end but is closed off at the other, just like a sack!
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