Learn Hardcore German: Sie lächelt verlegen, wenn der Lehrer sie lobt. - She smiles shyly when the teacher praises her.

In a main clause, the conjugated verb is in second position:
- Sie lächelt verlegen. – lächelt is in 2nd position.
In a subordinate clause (introduced by wenn, weil, dass, obwohl, etc.), the conjugated verb goes to the end:
- wenn der Lehrer sie lobt – lobt is at the end.

So the pattern is:

Main clause: Subject – verb – …
Wenn-clause: wenn – subject – objects – verb

Why is it der Lehrer and not den Lehrer?

Because der Lehrer is the subject of the verb lobt, so it must be in the nominative case.

Wer lobt? (Who is praising?) → der Lehrer → nominative.
Wen lobt der Lehrer? (Whom is the teacher praising?) → sie → accusative.

Forms of der (masculine, singular):

Nominative: der Lehrer (subject)
Accusative: den Lehrer (direct object)

In this sentence, der Lehrer is doing the action, so we need the nominative der, not the accusative den.

What does sie mean here? Is it “she,” “her,” “they,” or formal “you”?

German sie/Sie is ambiguous, but context and capitalization help.

In Sie lächelt verlegen, wenn der Lehrer sie lobt:

Sie at the start of the sentence:
- Capitalized because it’s at the beginning.
- Grammatical role: subject of lächelt.
- Meaning: she.
sie after lobt:
- Not capitalized (unless at sentence start).
- Grammatical role: direct object of lobt.
- Meaning: her (object form of “she”).

So here:

First Sie = she (nominative).
Second sie = her (accusative).

It’s not “they” or formal Sie in this context because the verb forms (lächelt, lobt) are 3rd person singular.

Why is it sie lobt and not something like lobt sie in the wenn‑clause?

In subordinate clauses with wenn, the finite verb must go to the end of the clause:

wenn der Lehrer sie lobt (correct: verb last)
❌ wenn der Lehrer lobt sie (English-like order, incorrect)
❌ wenn lobt der Lehrer sie (question word order, incorrect)

German word order rules:

Main clause: verb in 2nd position → Der Lehrer lobt sie.
Subordinate clause (wenn, weil, dass, …): verb at the end → …wenn der Lehrer sie lobt.

Why is verlegen used without an ending? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

Verlegen is an adjective meaning embarrassed / shy / bashful, but in German, adjectives and adverbs often look the same.

Here it describes how she smiles, so it functions adverbially:

Sie lächelt verlegen. – She smiles shyly / in an embarrassed way.

In German:

Predicate adjective: Sie ist verlegen. (She is embarrassed.)
Adverb-like use: Sie lächelt verlegen. (She smiles embarrassedly.)

You don’t add something like -ly; you just use the base form verlegen. No extra ending is needed because it does not stand before a noun (like ein verlegener Schüler).

Could the word order be Wenn der Lehrer sie lobt, lächelt sie verlegen instead?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and quite natural:

Sie lächelt verlegen, wenn der Lehrer sie lobt.
Wenn der Lehrer sie lobt, lächelt sie verlegen.

Both are grammatical and mean the same thing. The difference:

If the sentence starts with the wenn‑clause, that whole clause counts as the first position, so the verb in the main clause (lächelt) must still be in second position:
- Wenn der Lehrer sie lobt, lächelt sie verlegen.

So the pattern is:

[Wenn‑clause], [verb‑second main clause].

What exactly does wenn mean here: “when,” “whenever,” or “if”? How is it different from wann and als?

In this sentence wenn is temporal and habitual, best translated as “when(ever)”:

Sie lächelt verlegen, wenn der Lehrer sie lobt.
- Whenever the teacher praises her, she smiles shyly.

Differences:

wenn
- Can mean when(ever) for repeated/general situations.
- Also can mean if (conditional).
- Example: Wenn er kommt, gehen wir. – When(ever)/If he comes, we’ll go.
als
- Used for a single event in the past.
- Example: Als der Lehrer sie lobte, lächelte sie verlegen. – When the teacher praised her (that one time), she smiled shyly.
wann
- A question word for asking about time (directly or indirectly).
- Example: Wann lobt der Lehrer sie? – When does the teacher praise her?
- Example: Ich weiß nicht, wann der Lehrer sie lobt. – I don’t know when the teacher praises her.

So in the original sentence wenn = habitual when(ever), not wann, and not als (single past event).

What is the difference between lächeln and lachen?

Both relate to expressing happiness, but they’re not the same:

lächeln – to smile (silent or quiet, mouth only)
- Sie lächelt verlegen. – She smiles shyly.
lachen – to laugh (with sound)
- Sie lacht laut. – She laughs loudly.

In this sentence, lächelt is correct because it’s about a shy, modest reaction, not full laughter.

Why is it sie lobt and not sie loben?

Because der Lehrer is 3rd person singular, and the verb must agree with the subject in person and number.

Conjugation of loben (to praise) in the present tense:

ich lobe
du lobst
er/sie/es lobt
wir loben
ihr lobt
sie loben

Subject: der Lehrer → 3rd person singular → verb form lobt.

So wenn der Lehrer sie lobt = when the teacher praises her.
sie loben would be for they praise or Sie loben (formal “you praise”).

Could verlegen go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes, adverb-like words in German have some flexibility, but not all positions sound equally natural. These are all acceptable:

Sie lächelt verlegen, wenn der Lehrer sie lobt. (most natural)
Sie verlegen lächelt, wenn der Lehrer sie lobt. (possible but marked/unusual)
Wenn der Lehrer sie lobt, lächelt sie verlegen. (very natural)

Typically, manner adverbs like verlegen, laut, leise, schnell come right after the verb they’re modifying in simple sentences.

Why is it sie lobt and not ihr lobt? I thought “her” is ihr.

German splits “her” into different forms depending on the case:

sie = her as a direct object (accusative)
ihr = to her / for her as an indirect object (dative)

The verb loben (to praise) takes a direct object in the accusative:

Wen lobt der Lehrer? → sie (accusative)

If a verb needed a dative object (like helfen – to help), then you would use ihr:

Der Lehrer hilft ihr. – The teacher helps her.

So in this sentence, loben → accusative → sie, not ihr.