Word
Wenn ihr euch die Zähne geputzt habt, kommt bitte zum Tisch.
Meaning
When you (plural) have brushed your teeth, please come to the table.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Wenn ihr euch die Zähne geputzt habt, kommt bitte zum Tisch.
Why does Wenn come at the beginning, and what effect does it have on the word order?
Wenn introduces a subordinate (conditional) clause—“if/when/once”—so the finite verb moves to the very end of that clause. You also need a comma to separate this subordinate clause from the main clause that follows.
How is the perfect tense formed in the subordinate clause, and why are geputzt and habt at the end?
In German, the perfect tense uses an auxiliary plus a past participle. Here the auxiliary is haben in the form habt (for ihr) and the participle is geputzt. In subordinate clauses, both parts go to the end, with the past participle immediately before the auxiliary: “…euch die Zähne geputzt habt.”
Why is euch used here, and why does it come before die Zähne?
Putzen (“to clean/brush”) is used reflexively when you brush your own teeth. Euch is the reflexive pronoun for ihr, in the dative case (you brush something for yourselves). In German the pronoun almost always precedes a noun, so euch comes before die Zähne.
Why is die Zähne in the accusative case?
Zähne (“teeth”) is the direct object of putzen, so it takes the accusative. The definite article in plural accusative is die, hence die Zähne.
What is zum Tisch, and how is zum formed?
Zum is a contraction of zu dem (to the). It indicates direction or destination: “to the table.” So zum Tisch literally means “to the table.”
How is the imperative formed for ihr, and why is it kommt here?
For the informal plural ihr, the imperative is formed by taking the present-tense ihr‑form and dropping the pronoun. Since “you (all) come” is ihr kommt, the imperative is simply kommt (optionally you could say kommt ihr, but it’s usually omitted).
Why does kommt appear right after the comma, even though the subordinate clause is so long?
In main clauses German follows the “verb-second” (V2) rule. The entire subordinate clause counts as the first position. Immediately after the comma, kommt is the finite verb in second position in the main clause, regardless of how long the first position is.
Could I use the present tense instead, like Wenn ihr euch die Zähne putzt, kommt bitte zum Tisch?
Yes. Using the present tense (putzt) to talk about a future or conditional action is grammatically correct in German and often used in written instructions. The perfect (habt geputzt) emphasizes that the action must be completed before coming. In spoken German, the perfect is more common for past-looking actions, but both versions are acceptable here.