Breakdown of Wir sagen die Aktivität ab, je nachdem, ob das Turnier stattfindet.
wir
we
stattfinden
to take place
absagen
to cancel
ob
whether / if
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
je nachdem
depending on
die Aktivität
the activity
das Turnier
the tournament
Questions & Answers about Wir sagen die Aktivität ab, je nachdem, ob das Turnier stattfindet.
How does je nachdem work with ob in this sentence?
The phrase je nachdem means "depending on." It is often followed by an indirect question. Because the dependency here relies on a yes/no question (will the tournament happen?), we use the conjunction ob (whether).
Could I use wenn instead of ob here, since both can translate to "if"?
No, you must use ob. In English, we often use "if" for both conditions ("If it rains...") and indirect questions ("I don't know if it will rain"). In German, you must use wenn for conditions and ob for yes/no indirect questions. Because this sentence is about "whether or not" the tournament happens, ob is required.
Why is the verb stattfindet written as one word at the very end of the sentence?
The verb is stattfinden (to take place), which is a separable verb. Normally, you split it in a main clause (for example: Das Turnier findet statt). However, because ob introduces a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end. When a separable verb gets pushed to the end of a subordinate clause, its two parts reunite into a single word: stattfindet.
Why is ab separated in the first part of the sentence?
The main verb of the first clause is absagen (to cancel). Since it is a separable verb in a regular main clause (Wir sagen die Aktivität ab), the prefix ab separates from the conjugated part (sagen) and goes to the very end of its clause, right before the comma.
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