A conditional sentence (Konditionalsatz) is a sentence used to express or explain something that may happen when the condition mentioned in the sentence is met. A conditional sentence consists of 2 parts: the subordinate clause expressing the condition (Nebensatz - verb at the end) and the main clause (Hauptsatz - verb in position 2). The conditional clause is introduced by the conjunctions „wenn“, „falls“, „sofern“. So when do we use „wenn“, when „falls“, and when „sofern“? The article below will help you distinguish these three conjunctions.

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- The difference between „wenn“, „falls“ and „sofern“ lies in how likely the condition is to occur. With „falls“ and „sofern“, the probability that the condition occurs is lower than with „wenn“.

„Falls ich Zeit habe, gebe ich dir Bescheid!“

(If I have time, I'll let you know!)

⇒ The likelihood that I have time is not high; I'm not sure when I will have time.

„Ich ärgere mich, wenn sich meine Mitarbeiter verspäten.“

(I get annoyed when my employees are late.)

⇒ The likelihood that I will be annoyed when employees are late is very high; I know for certain that I will sometimes feel annoyed about this.

- „Sofern“, „falls“, „wenn“ can be used in both affirmative and negative sentences. However, sofern is used in more formal language.

„Sofern ich keine Zeit habe,...“

(If I don't have time...)

„Sofern du nicht zum Treffen kommst,...“

(If you don't come to the meeting...)

*** Note: When the subordinate clause comes before the main clause, „wenn“ can also be omitted. The verb in the subordinate clause then moves to the beginning of the clause.

„Wenn du zu spät kommst, gibt es Ärger.“ = „Kommst du zu spät, gibt es Ärger.“

(If you come late, you will get into trouble.)