Breakdown of In meinem Büro gibt es wenig Tageslicht, als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden.
Questions & Answers about In meinem Büro gibt es wenig Tageslicht, als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden.
The preposition in is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition). It takes:
- Accusative when there is movement/direction (into something)
- Dative when it’s a static location (in/on/at something)
Here we’re talking about where the daylight is (or isn’t), not moving into the office. So we use dative:
- meinem Büro = dative singular (neuter)
- nominative: das Büro
- accusative: das Büro
- dative: dem Büro → meinem Büro
If it were about movement, you’d use accusative, for example:
- Ich gehe in mein Büro. – I’m going into my office.
German main clauses are verb-second (V2):
- The finite verb (here: gibt) must be in second position, counting big chunks (phrases), not individual words.
Both of these are correct:
- Es (1st position) gibt (2nd) wenig Tageslicht in meinem Büro.
- In meinem Büro (1st position = one phrase) gibt (2nd) es wenig Tageslicht.
In the given sentence, the speaker puts In meinem Büro first for emphasis (talking about that place specifically), so gibt has to come second, and es moves behind the verb:
- In meinem Büro | gibt | es | wenig Tageslicht …
wenig Tageslicht
- wenig with uncountable nouns (like light, water, time)
- means not much / very little daylight
- often has a negative or complaining tone
ein bisschen Tageslicht
- means a bit / some daylight
- sounds more neutral or positive: at least there is some
wenige Lampen
- wenige with countable nouns (like lamps, chairs, people)
- means few lamps (and you usually think that this is not enough)
So in the sentence, wenig Tageslicht describes too little, insufficient natural light, not just a random small amount.
Tageslicht is a compound noun:
- Tag (day) + Licht (light) → Tageslicht (daylight / natural light)
Details:
- Gender: das Tageslicht
- Usually uncountable: wenig Tageslicht, viel Tageslicht
- Very common in contexts like:
- ein Zimmer mit viel Tageslicht – a room with lots of daylight
- ohne Tageslicht arbeiten – to work without natural light
It specifically refers to natural light from outside (sun/sky), not artificial light from lamps.
In German, als ob introduces a subordinate clause (Nebensatz). All subordinate clauses must be separated from the main clause by a comma.
- Main clause: In meinem Büro gibt es wenig Tageslicht
- Subordinate clause: als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden
Because als ob is a subordinating conjunction, it:
- Triggers a comma before it.
- Sends the finite verb of its clause to the end (here: würden).
Als ob literally means “as if / as though” and introduces a hypothetical or unreal comparison.
- als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden
→ as if we were working in a basement
Differences:
als ob
- standard, neutral, very common
- preferred in writing and formal speech
als wenn
- often used in spoken German, some people see it as a bit more colloquial
- meaning is usually the same as als ob
wie wenn
- more colloquial/regional
- sometimes sounds less “correct” in standard written German
In careful or written German, als ob is the safest and most standard choice.
This is a subordinate clause introduced by als ob, so German puts the verbs at the end of the clause.
Rules:
- In a subordinate clause with one verb: that verb goes to the end.
- With two verbs (e.g. an auxiliary + infinitive), all verbs go to the end, with the finite verb last.
Here we have:
- auxiliary: würden (finite verb, Konjunktiv II of werden)
- main verb: arbeiten (infinitive)
So the correct order in the subordinate clause is:
- … als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden.
[subject] [prepositional phrase] [infinitive] [finite verb]
If this were a main clause, the order would be:
- Wir würden in einem Keller arbeiten.
Again, in is a two-way preposition:
- Dative for location, Accusative for movement.
Here, “in a basement” describes location (where we would be working), so we use dative:
- ein Keller (masc, nominative)
- einem Keller (masc, dative) → in einem Keller
Alternatives:
- in einen Keller – accusative: into a basement (movement)
- im Keller = in dem Keller (in the basement – definite, specific)
- You could say: …als ob wir im Keller arbeiten würden.
- That would mean “as if we were working in the basement” (a specific basement), instead of “in a basement (in general)”.
Both are actually possible:
- als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiteten
- als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden
They both express a hypothetical / unreal situation using Konjunktiv II (subjunctive).
Difference:
- synthetic Konjunktiv II (one-word form):
- wir arbeiteten (Konjunktiv II of arbeiten)
- very “pure”, often preferred in formal/written German when the form is clearly distinct from the indicative.
- würde + infinitive construction:
- wir würden arbeiten
- extremely common in spoken German, especially when the plain Konjunktiv form looks the same as the normal past tense or sounds old-fashioned.
So arbeiten würden is perfectly natural and widely used.
arbeiteten is a bit more formal/literary, but also correct.
Yes, you can, and many native speakers do:
- … als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten.
This uses the indicative instead of explicit Konjunktiv II. In modern spoken German this is very common.
Nuance:
- Konjunktiv II (arbeiten würden / arbeiteten) clearly marks the situation as unreal/hypothetical.
- The indicative (arbeiten) can feel slightly less explicitly unreal, but in this kind of comparison after als ob, most listeners will still understand it as “as if (but in fact not)”.
In careful or formal German, teachers and grammars usually recommend using Konjunktiv II with als ob to make the unreality clear:
… als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden.
Yes, but only in a main clause or in other structures where the verb is not sent to the end by a subordinate conjunction.
Examples:
Wir würden in einem Keller arbeiten, wenn es keine Fenster gäbe.
(main clause: würden in 2nd position → würden arbeiten)Würden wir in einem Keller arbeiten, wäre es noch schlimmer.
(yes/no-question / inversion: finite verb first → Würden wir … arbeiten)
In a subordinate clause (like the one introduced by als ob), the finite verb goes to the end, so it must be:
- … als ob wir in einem Keller arbeiten würden.
not: als ob wir in einem Keller würden arbeiten.
Yes. These versions are all grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis:
In meinem Büro gibt es wenig Tageslicht, als ob …
- Emphasis on the place: In my office there is little daylight…
Es gibt in meinem Büro wenig Tageslicht, als ob …
- More neutral word order, starting with the impersonal es gibt.
Es gibt wenig Tageslicht in meinem Büro, als ob …
- Focuses on “little daylight” first, then specifies where.
All three obey the V2 rule (finite verb in second position). Choice is mostly about style and emphasis.
Because Tageslicht is treated as an uncountable mass noun in German, just like “light” in English.
- Uncountable → use wenig / viel, no plural:
- wenig Tageslicht – little daylight
- viel Tageslicht – lots of daylight
If you wanted a countable noun, you would switch to something like:
- wenige Fenster – few windows
- wenige Lampen – few lamps
But „Tageslichter“ is not used in this context; it would sound wrong in standard German.