Es war stürmisch am See, trotzdem blieb die Trainerin ruhig.

to be

Breakdown of Es war stürmisch am See, trotzdem blieb die Trainerin ruhig.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• es: it
• bleiben: to stay

Questions & Answers about Es war stürmisch am See, trotzdem blieb die Trainerin ruhig.

What does the word order after trotzdem tell me? Why is it trotzdem blieb die Trainerin and not trotzdem die Trainerin blieb?

In main clauses, German is verb-second (V2). Trotzdem is a sentence adverb placed in the first position, so the finite verb must come second: Trotzdem blieb …. The subject (die Trainerin) then follows the verb. So: first position = trotzdem, second = blieb, third = subject.

Is the comma before trotzdem mandatory?

Yes. There are two independent main clauses, so German requires a comma between them: Es war stürmisch am See, trotzdem blieb …. You could also write two sentences (Es war stürmisch am See. Trotzdem blieb …) or use a semicolon (… See; trotzdem …). The comma isn’t “because of” trotzdem, but because you’re separating two main clauses.

Can I use aber instead of trotzdem? What changes?

Yes: Es war stürmisch am See, aber die Trainerin blieb ruhig. With aber (a coordinating conjunction), you still have a main clause, but the verb doesn’t invert because the subject is first: aber die Trainerin blieb …. With trotzdem (a conjunctive adverb), if it starts the clause, the verb comes immediately after it: trotzdem blieb …. Both mean “nevertheless/however,” but aber is more neutral “but.”

How is different from ?