Wenn der Mülleimer voll ist, leere ich ihn sofort aus.

to be

Breakdown of Wenn der Mülleimer voll ist, leere ich ihn sofort aus.

• ich: I
• wenn: when
• sofort: immediately

Questions & Answers about Wenn der Mülleimer voll ist, leere ich ihn sofort aus.

Why does the sentence start with wenn, and does it mean if or when here?

Wenn introduces a subordinate clause and often means if or when, depending on context.

In this sentence, Wenn der Mülleimer voll ist, leere ich ihn sofort aus, it has a whenever/when sense:

• When the trash can is full, I empty it right away.
• It can also feel a bit like if in English, but here it usually describes a repeated situation or general rule.

A useful rule:

• wenn = when/whenever for repeated or general situations
• als = when for a one-time event in the past

So wenn is the natural choice here.

Why is ist at the end of the first part: Wenn der Mülleimer voll ist?

Because wenn creates a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses the conjugated verb usually goes to the end.

So:

• der Mülleimer ist voll = main clause word order
• wenn der Mülleimer voll ist = subordinate clause, so ist moves to the end

This is one of the most important German word-order patterns to learn.

Why is it leere ich and not ich leere after the comma?