Breakdown of Sooft sie anrufen, versprechen sie ein Auto oder Geld.
ein
a, an (eine)
das Auto
the car
das Geld
the money
sie
they
Questions & Answers about Sooft sie anrufen, versprechen sie ein Auto oder Geld.
How does sooft work in this sentence compared to a phrase like immer wenn?
Sooft is a temporal subordinating conjunction meaning "whenever" or "every time that" (literally "as often as"). Grammatically, it works exactly like immer wenn or jedes Mal, wenn by pushing the conjugated verb (anrufen) to the end of its clause. At the B2 level, using sooft is a great way to add more variety and elegance to your sentences.
Why is it versprechen sie and not sie versprechen in the second half of the sentence?
This is the classic German "verb-second" rule in action. The entire subordinate clause (Sooft sie anrufen) acts as a single block occupying position 1 of the main sentence. To keep the main conjugated verb in position 2, versprechen must come immediately after the comma, naturally causing it to swap places with the subject (sie).
anrufen is a separable verb. Why isn't the prefix an separated from the verb here?
Because the subordinating conjunction sooft forces the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause. When a separable verb is sent to the end of a subordinate clause, its prefix and stem reunite and are written together as one word. If this were a normal main clause, it would be separated: Sie rufen oft an.
What case are ein Auto and Geld in here?