Learn Hardcore German: Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.

Introduces a subordinate clause
- Main clause: Ich bin froh (I am glad)
- Subordinate clause: dass du kommst (that you are coming)
Forces the conjugated verb to the end of the clause
In a dass-clause, the finite verb must go to the end:
- du kommst (normal word order in a main clause)
- dass du kommst (verb at the end in a subordinate clause)

Unlike in English, you cannot omit dass here.
You must say Ich bin froh, dass du kommst, not Ich bin froh, du kommst.

Why is the verb kommst at the end of the clause?

In German, in a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction (like dass, weil, wenn, obwohl, etc.), the conjugated verb always goes to the end of the clause.

Normal main clause: Du kommst. (You are coming.) → verb in 2nd position
Subordinate clause: dass du kommst → verb at the end

So the pattern here is:

Ich bin froh, (main clause: verb 2nd)
dass du kommst. (subordinate clause: verb at the end)

This “verb‑at‑the‑end” rule is one of the most important patterns to internalize for German sentence structure.

Why is it dass with double s and not das?

dass and das sound almost the same, but they are different words with different functions:

dass (with ss) = subordinating conjunction, like that in English:
- Ich bin froh, dass du kommst. → I’m glad that you’re coming.
das (with one s) can be:
- a definite article (neuter “the”): das Buch (the book)
- a demonstrative pronoun: Das ist gut. (That is good.)
- a relative pronoun: Das Buch, das ich lese, ist spannend. (The book that I’m reading is exciting.)

A quick test:
If you can replace it by “dieses / jenes / welches” (this/that/which), it’s usually das, not dass.
Here, you cannot say Ich bin froh, dieses/jenes/welches du kommst, so it must be dass.

Why is the tense kommst (present) even if it might refer to the future (e.g. “that you’re coming tomorrow”)?

German very often uses the present tense for future events, especially when the future time is clear from context or from a time expression.

Examples:

Ich bin froh, dass du morgen kommst.
Literally: I am glad that you come tomorrow.
Meaning: I’m glad (that) you’re coming tomorrow.
Ich gehe nächste Woche nach Berlin.
I’m going to Berlin next week.

You can use Futur I (du wirst kommen), but in everyday German it often sounds more formal or emphasizes the future aspect a bit more. Here the natural choice is present tense kommst.

What’s the difference between Ich bin froh, dass… and Ich freue mich, dass…?

Both express a positive feeling, but there is a nuance:

Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.
- More like: I’m relieved / glad that you’re coming.
- Often used when the situation could have been worse or uncertain:
  - Ich bin froh, dass du gesund bist. (I’m glad you’re healthy.)
Ich freue mich, dass du kommst.
- Literally: I rejoice myself that you’re coming.
- Very idiomatic way to say I’m happy that you’re coming / I’m looking forward to you coming.
- Focuses more on joy/looking forward, less on relief.

Both are correct in this sentence; context and personal style decide which one you choose.

How is froh different from glücklich?

Both translate to happy, but they’re used differently:

froh
- More like glad, relieved.
- Often about a specific fact or outcome:
  - Ich bin froh, dass du da bist.
  - Ich bin froh, dass es nicht regnet.
glücklich
- More like happy in a deeper, more general or lasting sense:
  - Ich bin glücklich in meiner Beziehung. (I’m happy in my relationship.)
  - Sie ist ein glücklicher Mensch. (She is a happy person.)

So Ich bin froh, dass du kommst sounds very natural, like I’m glad you’re coming.
Ich bin glücklich, dass du kommst is possible but sounds stronger and more emotional.

Why is there a comma before dass?

In German, subordinate clauses must be separated from the main clause with a comma.

Structure here:

Main clause: Ich bin froh
Subordinate clause: dass du kommst

Rule:
Main clause , subordinating conjunction + subordinate clause

So you write:

Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.
Ich weiß, dass er krank ist.
Sie sagt, dass sie keine Zeit hat.

The comma is mandatory; leaving it out is considered a spelling mistake in standard German.

How would this sentence look in a more formal “Sie” form?

To speak formally to someone you use Sie instead of du, and the verb changes accordingly:

Informal: Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.
Formal: Ich bin froh, dass Sie kommen.

Changes:

du → Sie (formal “you”)
kommst → kommen (3rd person plural / formal “Sie” form of kommen)

Why is it du kommst and not du kommen or kommst du?

Two things are going on here:

Conjugation of “kommen”:
- ich komme
- du kommst
- er/sie/es kommt
- wir kommen
- ihr kommt
- sie/Sie kommen
For du, the correct form is kommst, not kommen.
Word order:
- In a normal main clause: verb is in 2nd place → Du kommst.
- In this subordinate clause introduced by dass, the verb goes to the end → dass du kommst.

So dass du kommst is just the normal du-form conjugation placed at the end of a subordinate clause.
You wouldn’t say dass kommst du, because in a dass-clause the verb cannot be in 2nd position.

Why don’t we say zu kommen here, like in “I’m glad for you to come”?

German has two common ways to express this kind of thing:

With a dass-clause + finite verb:
- Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.
With a zu + infinitive, but only when the subject is the same in both parts:
- Ich bin froh, dich zu sehen.
  (I’m glad to see you. → both parts are about “I”)

In Ich bin froh, dass du kommst, the subjects are different:

Main clause subject: ich
Subordinate clause subject: du

Because the subjects differ, German does not use a zu + infinitive construction.
So Ich bin froh, zu kommen, dass du is wrong; the natural form is Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.

Could I say Ich bin froh, weil du kommst instead? What’s the difference?

You can say Ich bin froh, weil du kommst, but the nuance changes slightly:

Ich bin froh, dass du kommst.
- Neutral, standard way to say I’m glad that you’re coming.
- Focus on the content of the fact: the thing that makes me glad is the fact that you are coming.
Ich bin froh, weil du kommst.
- Literally: I’m glad because you’re coming.
- Focus more on the cause of your emotion: The reason I’m glad is that you’re coming.

In many everyday contexts they’ll be interpreted similarly, but dass-clauses are much more typical after expressions of mental state, like:

Ich bin froh, dass…
Ich hoffe, dass…
Ich glaube, dass…
Ich weiß, dass…

Can I put the dass-clause first, and how does the word order change?

Yes, you can put the subordinate clause first. The structure then is:

Dass du kommst, freut mich.
(That you’re coming makes me happy.)

Notice:

In the dass-clause, the verb still stays at the end:
- dass du kommst
The main clause that follows must still obey the rule “conjugated verb in 2nd position”:
- Not: Dass du kommst, mich freut.
- Correct: Dass du kommst, freut mich.

The original sentence could also be rephrased as:

Dass du kommst, macht mich froh. (The fact that you’re coming makes me glad.)

How is dass different from English that with respect to omission?

In English, that can often be omitted:

I’m glad (that) you’re coming.
I think (that) he’s right.

In German, dass in this function cannot be omitted in standard usage:

Ich bin froh, dass du kommst. ✔
Ich bin froh, du kommst. ✘ (wrong)

So whenever you would have an optional that in English after verbs like to say, to think, to know, to be glad, in German you almost always must use dass.