Word
Je nachdem, wie die Laune ist, machen wir eine andere Aktivität.
Meaning
Depending on how the mood is, we do another activity.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Je nachdem, wie die Laune ist, machen wir eine andere Aktivität.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
machen
to make, to do
wir
we
Questions & Answers about Je nachdem, wie die Laune ist, machen wir eine andere Aktivität.
How does je nachdem work with the question word wie in this sentence?
Je nachdem translates to 'depending on'. It is often followed by an indirect question to explain what something depends on. Here, the indirect question starts with the question word wie (how). Because an indirect question is a subordinate clause, it kicks its conjugated verb (ist) to the very end of that clause.
Why is the word order machen wir instead of wir machen after the comma?
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must always be in the second position. The entire phrase before the second comma (Je nachdem, wie die Laune ist) acts as one big block occupying position 1. So, the main verb machen must take position 2 immediately after the comma, which pushes the subject wir to the other side of the verb.
Do I always have to use a question word like wie or ob after je nachdem?
Not always! If the context is already clear from a previous sentence, you can use je nachdem completely on its own as a short answer meaning 'It depends.' But whenever you want to explicitly state the condition in the same sentence, as we do here, you must connect it using an indirect question starting with a W-word (like wie, was, wann) or ob (whether/if).
Why is it eine andere with an -e ending?