Choosing the Connector: weil, obwohl, wenn, damit
Explicação
In the TELC Sprachbausteine you get four connectors and must pick one. Memorising lists does not help — identifying the logical relation before looking at the options does.
Ask the right question and the connector picks itself: Why? → cause · Despite what? → concession · On what condition? → condition · What for? → purpose.
| Question | Relation | Subordinate | Main clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warum? | cause | weil | denn |
| Trotz was? | concession | obwohl | trotzdem |
| Unter welcher Bedingung? | condition | wenn / falls | — |
| Wozu? | purpose | damit | um…zu |
damit or um…zu?
damit for different subjects · um…zu when both halves share one subject.
⚠️ Watch out
✗ Ich ging nicht aus, obwohl ich krank war.
✓ Ich ging nicht aus, weil ich krank war.
Being ill is the cause of not going out, not a contradiction of it.
🧠 Four questions, four connectors. Ask the question before reading the options — it rules out three of the four.
Exemplos
Ich gehe nicht aus, weil es regnet.
I am not going out because it is raining. (cause)
Ich gehe aus, obwohl es regnet.
I am going out although it is raining. (concession)
Wenn es aufhört zu regnen, gehe ich aus.
If it stops raining, I will go out. (condition)
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