Learn Hardcore German: Wenn das Baby weint, wirkt mein Bruder zuerst verwirrt, dann aber sehr geduldig. - When the baby cries, my brother seems confused at first, but then very patient.

Subordinate clause: Wenn das Baby weint → verb weint at the end
Main clause: wirkt mein Bruder zuerst verwirrt → normal verb-second word order

So the pattern is:

Wenn
- subject + … + verb-final,
  then
main clause with verb in second position.

What exactly does wirkt mean here, and how is it different from ist?

The verb wirken here means to seem / to come across / to appear (to other people), not to work.

Er ist verwirrt. → He is confused. (a fact about his state)
Er wirkt verwirrt. → He seems / appears confused. (how he looks to others)

So wirkt … verwirrt means your brother gives the impression of being confused, not that we are stating it as an objective fact.

Why don’t verwirrt and geduldig have endings like verwirrter or geduldiger?

Here, verwirrt and geduldig are predicate adjectives, not adjectives in front of a noun.

Predicate adjectives come after a verb like sein, werden, wirken, scheinen:
- Er ist verwirrt.
- Er wirkt geduldig.
- Das klingt komisch. In this position, no extra endings are added.
Adjectives with endings stand directly before a noun:
- ein verwirrter Mann (a confused man)
- ein sehr geduldiger Bruder (a very patient brother)

So:
wirkt … verwirrt and ist … geduldig → no endings.
ein verwirrter Bruder → adjective ending required.

What does the combination dann aber express? Why not just dann?

Dann aber adds a clear sense of contrast and change:

zuerst verwirrt → first confused
dann aber sehr geduldig → but then (by contrast) very patient

Nuance:

dann = then, afterwards (neutral sequence)
aber = but / however (contrast)
dann aber = then, however / but then, showing a turning point.

So dann aber sehr geduldig says: At first he seems confused, *but then (surprisingly / in contrast) very patient.*

Why is it das Baby? How is the gender decided?

In German, Baby is neuter, so it takes the article das:

das Baby (nominative singular)
ein Baby
mein Baby

Many loanwords ending in -y referring to young beings (like das Baby) are neuter, but this isn’t a strict rule; it’s just how the word entered the language.

In the sentence, das Baby is the subject of the subordinate clause (das Baby weint).

Why is there a comma after Wenn das Baby weint?

Because Wenn das Baby weint is a subordinate clause, and German always separates a subordinate clause from the main clause with a comma.

Wenn das Baby weint, wirkt mein Bruder …

If you reverse the order, you still need the comma:

Mein Bruder wirkt zuerst verwirrt, wenn das Baby weint.

So the rule is: main clause ↔ subordinate clause = comma between them, regardless of order.

If I put the main clause first, does the word order change? For example: Mein Bruder wirkt zuerst verwirrt, wenn das Baby weint.

Yes, that sentence is correct, and the word order changes only for the clause that comes first:

Subordinate clause first:
- Wenn das Baby weint, wirkt mein Bruder zuerst verwirrt, dann aber sehr geduldig.
- Verb in subordinate clause → final (weint)
- Main clause comes second → verb in second position (wirkt)
Main clause first:
- Mein Bruder wirkt zuerst verwirrt, wenn das Baby weint.
- Main clause first → verb in second position (wirkt)
- Subordinate clause second → verb final (weint)

The internal word order rules of each clause stay the same; only the order of the clauses themselves changes.

What is the function of zuerst, and can it be moved to another position?

Zuerst is an adverb meaning first / at first / initially. Here it describes when/how your brother appears confused.

In the main clause, some variations are possible:

… wirkt mein Bruder zuerst verwirrt, dann aber sehr geduldig. (normal)
… wirkt mein Bruder verwirrt, zuerst, dann aber sehr geduldig. (possible, but less natural and more marked)
… wirkt mein Bruder zuerst sehr verwirrt, dann aber sehr geduldig. (adding sehr to both)

The standard, most natural position is:

Subject – verb – other elements – predicate adjective
… wirkt mein Bruder zuerst verwirrt …

So zuerst normally sits before the adjective phrase it belongs to.

Why is the present tense used with wenn here, even though in English we might say “when(ever) the baby cries”?

With wenn expressing a repeated / general condition, German typically uses the present tense, even if English might use when, whenever, or even sometimes a different tense.

Wenn das Baby weint, wirkt mein Bruder …
→ Whenever the baby cries, my brother seems …

So the pattern is:

Wenn
- present tense → for general, repeated situations
Use other tenses only if you clearly talk about one specific event in time.

Why is it aber and not sondern in dann aber sehr geduldig?

Aber and sondern both translate as but, but they are used differently:

aber = but / however → for a simple contrast:
- Er ist müde, aber glücklich.
sondern = but rather / but instead → for correction after a negation:
- Er ist nicht müde, sondern glücklich.

In the sentence, nothing is being negated and corrected; we’re just contrasting two states (confused → then patient), so aber is correct.

You could not say:

✗ zuerst verwirrt, dann sondern sehr geduldig

Could I use scheint instead of wirkt, and what would be the difference?

You could say:

Wenn das Baby weint, scheint mein Bruder zuerst verwirrt, dann aber sehr geduldig.

This is grammatically fine. The nuance:

wirken → how someone comes across to others, how they appear outwardly
scheinen → seems / appears, often a bit more neutral or slightly more mental/subjective

In everyday speech:

Er wirkt sehr geduldig. = He comes across as very patient.
Er scheint sehr geduldig zu sein. = He seems to be very patient. (a bit more like an assessment)

In your sentence, wirkt is very natural, especially when talking about immediate visible reactions.