Learn Hardcore German: Wenn du so weiterlernst, wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestanden haben. - If you keep studying like this, you will certainly have passed the next language exam.

wenn = if / whenever (conditional or repeated situations)
- Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause.
  If it rains, I stay at home.
wann = when? (question about time, direct or indirect)
- Wann kommst du?
  When are you coming?
- Ich weiß nicht, wann du kommst.
  I don’t know when you are coming.
falls = in case / if (often a bit more hypothetical than wenn)
- Falls du Hilfe brauchst, ruf mich an.
  If you need help, call me.

Here we clearly have a condition: If you keep learning like this..., so wenn is the natural choice.

Why is the verb at the end in „Wenn du so weiterlernst“?

Because wenn introduces a subordinate clause (Nebensatz). In German subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb goes to the end:

Wenn du so weiterlernst,
– subject: du
– other elements: so
– verb (conjugated): weiterlernst at the end

General pattern:

Main clause: Subject – Verb – …
- Du lernst so weiter.
Subordinate clause with wenn, weil, dass, etc.: Subordinator – Subject – … – Verb
- Wenn du so weiterlernst
- Weil ich keine Zeit habe
- Dass er gestern nicht gekommen ist

So the verb-final position is just standard subordinate-clause word order in German.

What exactly is weiterlernst? Why is it written as one word here?

weiterlernst is the 2nd person singular form of the verb weiterlernen (to continue learning).

weiterlernen is a separable verb: weiter- (prefix) + lernen (to learn).
In a main clause, separable verbs split, and the prefix goes to the end:
- Du lernst so weiter.
  (You continue studying like this.)
In a subordinate clause, the whole verb appears together at the end:
- Wenn du so weiterlernst
  (If you continue studying like this)

So:

main clause: lernst ... weiter
subordinate clause: weiterlernst

Both are the same verb; the difference is purely word order.

What tense is „wirst du … bestanden haben“, and what does it express?

„wirst du … bestanden haben“ is Futur II in German, called the future perfect in English.

Structure:

werden (conjugated) + past participle
- haben/sein
Here: wirst
- bestanden
  - haben

Function in this sentence:

It describes an action that will already be completed at a certain future point.
Roughly: “you will have passed” (by that time).

So:

Wenn du so weiterlernst, wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestanden haben.
= If you keep studying like this, you will surely have passed the next language exam (by then).

It looks into the future and says: when we get to the time after your next exam, by that time the passing of the exam will already be a finished event.

Why is it „wirst du … bestanden haben“ and not „wirst du … haben bestanden“?

In German, when you build Futur II (future perfect), the auxiliary „haben/sein“ goes to the very end of the clause, after the past participle.

Correct structure:

werden (conjugated, 2nd position in main clause)
subject and other elements
Partizip II (past participle)
haben/sein at the end

So we get:

Du wirst die Prüfung bestanden haben. ✅
not: wirst die Prüfung haben bestanden ❌

This is the same pattern you see in other multi-verb constructions:

Er wird das Buch gelesen haben.
Sie wird schon nach Hause gegangen sein.

Why is it bestanden and not something like „ge…“ (e.g. gebesteht)?

Bestanden is the past participle (Partizip II) of bestehen in the meaning “to pass (an exam)”.

infinitive: bestehen
present: du bestehst die Prüfung
past participle: du hast die Prüfung bestanden

Many common verbs don’t form the participle with ge- in a simple way, especially:

Verbs with inseparable prefixes (be-, ver-, ent-, etc.):
- bestehen → bestanden
- verstehen → verstanden
And a number of irregular verbs in general.

So bestanden is the correct participle; there is no „gebesteht“ in standard German.

What does sicher mean here, and why is it in that position?

In this sentence, sicher means “surely / certainly / for sure”, not “safe”.

wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestanden haben
≈ you will surely have passed the next language exam

About its position:

In German, sentence adverbs like sicher, wahrscheinlich, bestimmt often go after the subject and before the main content:
- Du wirst sicher gewinnen.
- Er hat wahrscheinlich Recht.

Here, sicher sits between the auxiliary wirst and the rest of the verb phrase, which is very natural:

wirst du … sicher bestanden haben

You could move it slightly without changing the meaning much:

Du wirst die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestanden haben. (neutral)
Du wirst sicher die nächste Sprachprüfung bestanden haben. (also fine)

But the version in the example is completely idiomatic and clear.

What’s the difference between this sentence and using „bestehen“ in Futur I, like „wirst du … bestehen“?

Compare:

Futur I (simple future):
- Wenn du so weiterlernst, wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestehen.
  = If you keep studying like this, you will surely pass the next exam.
Futur II (future perfect):
- Wenn du so weiterlernst, wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestanden haben.
  = If you keep studying like this, you will surely have passed the next exam (by that time).

Difference in nuance:

Futur I focuses on the event itself in the future: the act of passing.
Futur II focuses on the fact that, seen from some later future point, the passing will already be a completed fact.

In everyday spoken German, people often just use present or Futur I:

Wenn du so weiterlernst, bestehst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher.
Wenn du so weiterlernst, wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestehen.

Futur II is more bookish or precise and is often used when talking about completion by a certain future time or making assumptions about the past.

Why is it „die nächste Sprachprüfung“ and not „der“ or „das“?

Because Sprachprüfung is a feminine noun in German:

die Sprachprüfung – the language exam

In the sentence, die nächste Sprachprüfung is the direct object of bestehen (to pass something), so it’s in the accusative case. For feminine nouns, nominative and accusative singular both use die:

Nominative: die Sprachprüfung ist morgen.
Accusative: Ich bestehe die Sprachprüfung.

So die is correct here.

About nächste:

Article: die (definite, feminine, singular, accusative)
Adjective: nächste – it takes the -e ending after a definite article in feminine singular accusative:
- die nächste Sprachprüfung
- die kleine Stadt
- die rote Tasche

Everything matches: feminine noun + definite article + adjective in accusative singular.

What exactly does „so weiterlernst“ mean? Why so and not sehr?

„so weiterlernst“ literally means “continue learning like this” or “keep studying the way you are now.”

weiterlernen = to continue learning
so here means “in this way / like this”, referring to your current learning habits or style:
- Wenn du so weitermachst, …
  If you carry on like this, …

sehr means “very”, which would not fit here:

If you very continue learning – ungrammatical in English too.

So:

so → manner: like this, in this way
sehr → degree: very

The sentence is talking about the way you are learning, not how much or how intensely, so so is correct.

Could we also say „Wenn du so weiter lernst“ with a space?

In standard written German, the infinitive is written as one word: weiterlernen.

In finite forms:

Main clause: Du lernst so weiter. (separable prefix splits off)
Subordinate clause: Wenn du so weiterlernst. (written together)

„so weiter lernst“ with a space looks like you are treating weiter as a separate adverb, but in this structure it’s understood as part of the separable verb weiterlernen, so you normally either:

write the full verb together at the end in a subordinate clause:
weiterlernst ✅
or split it properly in a main clause:
lernst … weiter ✅

So: in this subordinate clause, weiterlernst (one word) is the correct, standard spelling.

How is the overall word order of the whole sentence structured?

The sentence has two clauses:

Subordinate clause with „wenn“:
- Wenn du so weiterlernst,
- Subordinator wenn → verb (weiterlernst) goes to the end.
Main clause:
- wirst du die nächste Sprachprüfung sicher bestanden haben.
- Main clause rules:
  - wirst (conjugated werden) in position 1 or 2 (here effectively 1, because the subordinate clause takes the “Vorfield”)
  - subject du right after it
  - rest of the clause (object, adverb)
  - non-finite parts of the verb (bestanden haben) at the end

Abstract pattern:

[Subordinate clause with verb at the end], [main clause with conjugated verb in 2nd position and other verb forms at the end].

So the sentence is a clean example of:

Nebensatz: wenn … weiterlernst
Hauptsatz: wirst du … bestanden haben.