Breakdown of Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt, gebe ich dir sofort Bescheid.
Questions & Answers about Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt, gebe ich dir sofort Bescheid.
Sobald introduces a subordinate clause (a dependent time clause). In German, subordinate clauses are normally separated from the main clause by a comma. So Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt, is the dependent clause, and gebe ich dir sofort Bescheid is the main clause.
In a subordinate clause introduced by words like sobald, wenn, weil, dass, German typically puts the conjugated verb at the end. That’s why it’s die E‑Mail ankommt (not ankommt die E‑Mail or kommt an).
Because the subordinate clause Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt is in position 1 of the sentence. German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the conjugated verb must be in the second position. If something other than the subject comes first (here: the whole Sobald… clause), then the verb comes next, and the subject follows: …, gebe ich ….
Bescheid geben is a fixed expression meaning “to let someone know / to inform someone.” It behaves like a verb with a noun built in. In a main clause, the conjugated verb geben goes in V2 position (gebe), while the noun Bescheid typically stays later in the sentence. That’s why you get gebe … Bescheid rather than keeping them together.
Because jemandem Bescheid geben takes a dative person: you “give notice” to someone. So:
- dir = dative “to you”
- dich would be accusative “you” as a direct object, which doesn’t fit this verb phrase.
They do slightly different jobs:
- sobald sets the timing of when you will do it: as soon as the email arrives
- sofort emphasizes how quickly / immediately you’ll act at that moment: I’ll let you know immediately Using both is natural for extra emphasis and clarity.
Yes. You can put the main clause first and the sobald clause second:
- Ich gebe dir sofort Bescheid, sobald die E‑Mail ankommt. In that version, the main clause starts normally (Ich gebe…). The subordinate clause still has verb-final order (… ankommt) and is separated by a comma.
In standard German, E‑Mail is feminine: die E‑Mail. (In some regions you may hear different gender choices, but die is the standard and safest form to learn.)
ankommen is a separable verb. In a main clause you’d split it: Die E‑Mail kommt an.
But in a subordinate clause, separable verbs are not split; the prefix stays attached at the end: … weil/sobald die E‑Mail ankommt.
German often uses the present tense to talk about future events when the time is clear from context. Sobald … ankommt refers to a future arrival, but present tense is still the normal choice. You could use future (ankommen wird), but it’s less common and often sounds heavier.
German capitalizes all nouns. E‑Mail is a noun, and Bescheid is also a noun (even though it’s part of the expression Bescheid geben), so both are capitalized.
Yes, depending on tone:
- Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt, informiere ich dich. (more formal)
- Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt, sage ich dir Bescheid. (very common; adds sage
- Bescheid)
- Sobald die E‑Mail ankommt, sage ich dir sofort. (possible, but less idiomatic without Bescheid or an object like “it”/the content)