Ich bin innerlich ruhig, obwohl der Tag stressig war.

to be

Breakdown of Ich bin innerlich ruhig, obwohl der Tag stressig war.

• ich: I
• der Tag: the day
• ruhig: calm

Questions & Answers about Ich bin innerlich ruhig, obwohl der Tag stressig war.

Why does the verb war go at the end of the clause obwohl der Tag stressig war?

Obwohl is a subordinating conjunction in German. Subordinating conjunctions (like weil, dass, wenn, obwohl) send the conjugated verb to the end of the clause.

So:

• Der Tag war stressig. – normal main clause: verb in position 2
• … obwohl der Tag stressig war. – subordinate clause: war goes to the end

This is a general rule:

• Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin.
• Ich glaube, dass er Recht hat.
• Sie kommt, wenn sie Zeit hat.

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Could I say obwohl der Tag stressig ist instead of war?

You can, but it changes the nuance slightly.

• obwohl der Tag stressig war
  – The speaker sees the day as something that is (more or less) over or as a completed unit. The stress is viewed as something that happened earlier in the day.

• obwohl der Tag stressig ist
  – The speaker is talking about the stress as something that is still going on right now.

In everyday speech, war is very natural even if the day is not completely finished yet, because you are talking about how the day has been up to now.

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Why is it der Tag and not den Tag or some other form?