Breakdown of Sooft ich auflege, rufen sie wieder an.
ich
I
sie
they
anrufen
to call (by phone)
wieder
again
sooft
whenever
auflegen
to hang up
Questions & Answers about Sooft ich auflege, rufen sie wieder an.
What is the difference in nuance between sooft and immer wenn?
While both can translate to "whenever," sooft puts a much stronger emphasis on the frequency or repetition of an event. It literally translates to "as often as." Using immer wenn would just state the factual condition ("every time I hang up"), whereas sooft adds a flavor of "every single time I hang up," which perfectly fits the annoyance of getting called back repeatedly.
Both auflegen and anrufen are separable verbs. Why is auflege written as one word here while rufen and an are separated?
It all comes down to the type of clause. Sooft is a subordinating conjunction, which kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause. When a separable verb is forced to the end like this, its prefix stays attached (auflege). The second half of the sentence is a main clause where the verb behaves normally: the conjugated part (rufen) takes the second position, and the prefix (an) is sent to the very end.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb rufen instead of the subject sie?
This is the classic German "V2 rule" in action. In a main clause, the conjugated verb must be the second element. Because the entire subordinate clause (Sooft ich auflege) acts as the first element of the whole sentence, the verb rufen must come immediately after the comma to occupy that required second slot.
Does sooft require a specific verb tense?
No, it doesn't require a special tense, but the tenses between the two clauses usually need to match logically. Here, both actions happen in the present tense. If you were complaining about something in the past ("Whenever I hung up, they called again"), both verbs would simply shift to the past tense: Sooft ich auflegte, riefen sie wieder an.
Learn Sooft ich auflege, rufen sie wieder an and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free