Sobald die Ampel grün wird, fährt das Taxi los.

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Breakdown of Sobald die Ampel grün wird, fährt das Taxi los.

• werden: to become
• sobald: as soon as
• die Ampel: the traffic light

Questions & Answers about Sobald die Ampel grün wird, fährt das Taxi los.

What does Sobald mean, and how is it used in German sentences?

Sobald is a subordinating conjunction meaning “as soon as.”
• It introduces a subordinate clause describing a moment in time.
• The main clause follows after a comma.
• In the subordinate clause, the finite verb goes to the end.

Example structure:
[subordinate clause], [main clause]
Sobald die Ampel grün wird, fährt das Taxi los.

Why does wird come at the end of the Sobald-clause?

Because Sobald is a subordinating conjunction, it sends the finite verb to the final position in its clause.
In subordinate clauses introduced by words like weil, dass, obwohl, and sobald, German uses the Verb-final rule:

[Sobald + subject + other elements + verb]

Here:
Sobald (conjunction) + die Ampel (subject) + grün (predicate) + wird (finite verb).

Why is the article die used with Ampel?

Because Ampel (traffic light) is a feminine noun in German.
All nouns have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine or neuter).
• Feminine nouns take die in the nominative singular.

die Ampel (the traffic light)

What exactly does mean? Why not just ?