Word
Wenn der Benutzername falsch ist, zeigt das System sofort eine rote Warnung.
Meaning
If the username is wrong, the system immediately shows a red warning.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Wenn der Benutzername falsch ist, zeigt das System sofort eine rote Warnung.
sein
to be
zeigen
to show
wenn
if
sofort
immediately
das System
the system
falsch
wrong
rot
red
der Benutzername
the username
die Warnung
the warning
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Wenn der Benutzername falsch ist, zeigt das System sofort eine rote Warnung.
Why is ist at the end of the first clause?
Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by wenn, and in German subordinate clauses the finite verb moves to the end.
Why do we need a comma before zeigt?
In German, you must separate subordinate clauses from the main clause with a comma.
Why does zeigt come before das System?
In the main clause, German follows the verb-second (V2) rule. Here, the subordinate clause counts as the first element, so the finite verb zeigt is in second position, even before the subject das System.
What case is der Benutzername and why?
It’s in the nominative case because der Benutzername is the subject of the subordinate clause wenn ... ist.
What case is eine rote Warnung, and why does rot end in -e rather than -es?
It’s in the accusative case as the direct object of zeigt. The adjective rot takes the weak ending -e after the indefinite article eine for feminine singular accusative.
Why is Benutzername written as one word and capitalized?
German forms compound nouns by joining words together, so Benutzer (user) + Name (name) become Benutzername. All nouns in German are capitalized.
Why is das System written with das?
System is a neuter noun in German, so it takes the neuter definite article das in the nominative case.
Can we use falls instead of wenn, and what’s the difference?
You can, yes. Wenn is used for general or repeated conditions, while falls often implies a more hypothetical or less likely situation. Both translate as “if.”
Where does the adverb sofort go, and can its position change?
Sofort is a time adverb and usually appears in the middle field (before or after the object). In the example it comes after the verb zeigt and before the object eine rote Warnung. You could also say zeigt das System sofort eine rote Warnung, but the given order is the most neutral.