Wir lachten, als der Aufzug plötzlich stoppte, denn wir hatten noch genug Zeit bis zur nächsten Führung im Rathaus.

Wir lachten, als der Aufzug plötzlich stoppte, denn wir hatten noch genug Zeit bis zur nächsten Führung im Rathaus.
We laughed when the elevator suddenly stopped, because we still had enough time until the next tour in the town hall.
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Questions & Answers about Wir lachten, als der Aufzug plötzlich stoppte, denn wir hatten noch genug Zeit bis zur nächsten Führung im Rathaus.

Why is als used in als der Aufzug plötzlich stoppte instead of wenn?

In German als introduces a single event that happened once in the past. Use als when:

  • Referring to one specific moment or occurrence.
  • Speaking about a past action that did not repeat.

By contrast, wenn is used for:

  • Repeated events (“Wenn ich Zeit habe, gehe ich spazieren.”)
  • General conditions or future possibilities.

Here, the elevator stopping was a one-time incident, so we choose als.

Why is denn used to connect the clauses instead of weil?

denn is a coordinating conjunction meaning “for” or “because” in English. It connects two main clauses without changing word order.

  • Word order with denn: Subject – verb – … (“wir hatten…”).
  • No verb-final shift.

If you used the subordinating weil, the verb would move to the end of its clause:
… nächsten Führung im Rathaus hatten.

Using denn keeps the tone more narrative and the structure simpler.

Why does the verb stoppte appear at the end of the als-clause?

In German subordinate clauses (introduced by als, weil, dass, etc.), the finite verb is placed at the end. Structure of the als-clause here:
1) als (subordinator)
2) der Aufzug (subject)
3) plötzlich (adverb)
4) stoppte (verb)

This verb-last rule is standard for all dependent clauses.

What is the rule for comma placement before als and denn in this sentence?
  • You place a comma before als, because it introduces a subordinate clause.
  • You also place a comma before denn, even though it’s coordinating, because German allows (and often requires) a comma before coordinating conjunctions that link clauses of equal rank.

Thus:
Wir lachten, als …, denn ….

Why is it im Rathaus and not ins Rathaus?
  • in
    • dative (= location, no movement) → im (contraction of in dem).
  • ins = in das, used for movement into a building (accusative).

Here you’re already inside the town hall during the tour, so it’s a static location. Hence im Rathaus.

How do you get zur nächsten Führung? What case is nächsten and why?
  • The phrase is bis zu + dative: bis zu der nächsten Führung.
  • bis zu is a compound preposition taking the dative.
  • der (feminine dative singular) contracts with zu to zur.
  • After a definite article, adjectives take the weak ending -en → nächsten.

Case breakdown:
bis zu (prepositional phrase) → dative feminine → zur nächsten Führung.

Why is the narrative in Präteritum (lachten, stoppte, hatten) instead of Perfekt?
  • Written or formal storytelling typically uses Präteritum in German.
  • In spoken colloquial German, you might hear:
    Wir haben gelacht, als der Aufzug plötzlich gestoppt hat, …
  • But for a concise, fiction-like account (e.g. in writing or a tour report), Präteritum is preferred.
How is noch genug Zeit used here and what does noch add?
  • genug Zeit means enough time.
  • noch means still, emphasizing that they continued to have sufficient time up until that point.

Together noch genug Zeit = we still had enough time (i.e. we weren’t in a hurry).