Learn Hardcore German: Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht, leuchtet nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte. - When the headlamp suddenly goes out, only the fire in front of the cabin is still shining.

In a normal main clause, it would split:
- Die Stirnlampe geht plötzlich aus. – The headlamp suddenly goes out.
Here we have a subordinate clause introduced by Als:
- Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht, …

In subordinate clauses in German, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause. With separable verbs, the prefix sticks to the verb again, so geht … aus becomes ausgeht, and that whole form goes to the end.

So:

main clause: geht … aus (split, verb in 2nd position, prefix at the end)
subordinate clause: ausgeht (together, at the end)

What does Als mean here, and how is it different from wenn or wann?

Here Als is a temporal conjunction meaning when in the sense of at the moment when / just as.

Key differences:

als
- Used for a single event in the past, often in narratives.
- Even though the verb form here is present (historical present), it is still telling about a single, one‑time event.
- Example: Als ich ankam, regnete es. – When I arrived, it was raining.
wenn
- Used for repeated events (whenever) or general conditions.
- Also for present/future “when/if”.
- Example (repeated): Wenn die Stirnlampe ausgeht, wird es dunkel. – Whenever the headlamp goes out, it gets dark.
wann
- Used only in questions (direct or indirect) about time: when?
- Example: Wann geht die Stirnlampe aus? – When does the headlamp go out?

In this sentence we talk about one specific moment in a story, so Als is the natural choice, not wenn or wann.

Why is the sentence in the present tense (ausgeht, leuchtet) if it is telling a story about the past?

This is a common stylistic device called the historical present (in German: historisches Präsens).

Grammatically, it’s present tense.
Functionally, it is used to tell a past event in a vivid, “right-now” way.

English does this too, especially in spoken storytelling:

So I’m walking through the forest, and suddenly my headlamp goes out, and only the fire in front of the hut is still glowing.

German works the same here. In more neutral past narrative, you could also say:

Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausging, leuchtete nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte.

Both are correct; the version with present tense feels more immediate and dramatic.

What does nur noch mean exactly, and how is it different from just nur or just noch?

nur noch is a very typical combination. Literally it’s only still, and it means something like:

only … left / nothing but … now

In this sentence:

leuchtet nur noch das Feuer ≈ only the fire is still shining / the fire is the only thing that still gives light.

Differences:

nur = only
- nur das Feuer leuchtet – only the fire shines (no idea whether something else used to shine)
noch = still, yet
- das Feuer leuchtet noch – the fire is still shining (it hasn’t gone out yet; others might or might not be shining)
nur noch = only still
- nur noch das Feuer leuchtet – everything else has stopped shining; the fire is the only remaining light.

So nur noch emphasizes that all other sources (like the headlamp) are no longer shining; only this one remains.

Why is it vor der Hütte and not vor die Hütte?

The preposition vor is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition). That means:

With dative: it describes a location (where?).
With accusative: it describes a direction/motion (where to?).

In your sentence:

vor der Hütte – in front of the hut (location → dative: der Hütte)
- It answers Wo? – Where is the fire? – In front of the hut.

If we used accusative, we would be talking about movement:

Ich gehe vor die Hütte. – I go to the area in front of the hut. (direction → die Hütte)

Since the fire is already located in front of the hut and not moving there, dative der Hütte is correct.

In the second part, why does the verb leuchtet come before the subject das Feuer?

German main clauses generally want the finite verb in second position (the V2 rule). “Second position” means “second element,” not “second word.”

Here the structure is:

Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht, → this whole subordinate clause is in first position.
Then comes the finite verb of the main clause: leuchtet.
After that we get the rest: nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte.

So:

Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht, (position 1)
leuchtet (position 2, the verb)
nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte. (rest: adverb + subject + prepositional phrase)

This is called inversion: the subject (das Feuer) comes after the verb because something else (here: the whole Als … clause) has been put in the first position.

Which words are the subjects in each clause, and how can I tell?

There are two clauses:

Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht, …
- Verb: ausgeht (3rd person singular)
- Subject: die Stirnlampe (nominative singular feminine)
- Check: Die Stirnlampe geht aus. – Yes, that works and agrees in person and number.
… leuchtet nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte.
- Verb: leuchtet (3rd person singular)
- Subject: das Feuer (nominative singular neuter)
- Check: Das Feuer leuchtet. – Fits perfectly.

The phrase vor der Hütte is a prepositional phrase (place), not a subject. The words nur noch are adverbs modifying the verb.

A practical trick: to find the subject in German, take the verb and ask:

Wer oder was + [verb]?
Who or what [verb]?

Wer oder was geht aus? → die Stirnlampe
Wer oder was leuchtet? → das Feuer

Why are the articles die Stirnlampe, das Feuer, der Hütte like that? How are the genders decided?

German noun gender is mostly lexical, not logical; you usually have to learn it with the noun.

In this sentence:

die Stirnlampe – feminine
- Compound: Stirn (forehead) + Lampe (lamp).
- In German compounds, the gender is decided by the last part.
- die Lampe is feminine → die Stirnlampe is feminine.
das Feuer – neuter
- Its gender is just part of the word’s dictionary entry: das Feuer.
der Hütte – this is dative singular of die Hütte.
- Nominative: die Hütte (feminine)
- Dative: der Hütte
- The preposition vor
  - location requires dative, hence der, not die.

There is no simple universal rule to derive the gender for every noun; you learn das Feuer, die Hütte, die Lampe, etc., usually with their article.

Why is there a comma after ausgeht?

Because Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht is a subordinate clause, and in German:

Every subordinate clause is separated from the main clause by a comma.

The structure is:

Subordinate clause: Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht,
Main clause: leuchtet nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte.

If you reversed the order, you’d still keep the comma:

Nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte leuchtet, als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht.

So the comma is purely grammatical, marking the boundary between the clauses.

Can I reverse the order of the two clauses? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can reverse them:

Original: Als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht, leuchtet nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte.
Reversed: Nur noch das Feuer vor der Hütte leuchtet, als die Stirnlampe plötzlich ausgeht.

The basic meaning (time relationship: first the lamp goes out, then only the fire is left) stays the same, because Als still marks the temporal relationship.

The difference is mainly in focus and style:

Original: focuses more on the moment of the lamp going out, then the result.
Reversed: foregrounds the fact that only the fire is shining, and adds the lamp going out as a kind of backgrounded event explaining the situation.

Both are grammatically correct; the original version is probably the more neutral and common order.