Questions & Answers about Sie lügt nur, wenn sie viel Stress hat.
What exactly does nur mean here? Is it “only”, “just”, or something else?
In this sentence nur means “only” in the sense of “and not in other situations.”
- Sie lügt nur, wenn sie viel Stress hat.
→ She lies only when she has a lot of stress (and not at other times).
It doesn’t mean “just” in a minimizing sense here (like “she’s just lying, no big deal”), but rather restricts the situation in which she lies.
What’s the difference between wenn and wann? Why is wenn used here?
Wenn and wann are not interchangeable:
wenn = when / whenever / if
Used for:- repeated events: Wenn ich müde bin, trinke ich Kaffee.
- general conditions: Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause.
wann = when? (question word)
Used for:- direct questions: Wann kommst du?
- indirect questions: Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.
In Sie lügt nur, wenn sie viel Stress hat, we have a condition/general case (“whenever she has a lot of stress”), so wenn is correct. Wann here would be wrong.
Why is the verb hat at the end of the wenn-clause?