B2 · 7/7 #WENNSIZKOSUL

Conditionals without wenn

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A German conditional clause can drop wenn and put the conjugated verb first instead: Hätte ich Zeit, würde ich kommen.

You can build a conditional (if-) clause without “wenn” by moving the conjugated verb to first position.

Contents

Right now: setting a condition by putting the verb first

ShortcutIn German you can drop the conjunction wenn (if) and build the conditional clause by putting the conjugated verb first. This structure is usually used with Konjunktiv II (hätte, wäre, würde).

Hätte ich Zeit, würde ich kommen.

Had I the time, I would come. (Wenn ich Zeit hätte...)

Sollte es regnen, bleiben wir zu Hause.

Should it rain, we’ll stay home. (Wenn es regnen sollte...)

This structure looks like a question, but it isn’t one. A comma joins the two clauses, and the second (main) clause always starts with a verb or with so/dann.

You already do this in English — the same trick

English does this too, in slightly formal speech: “If I had the time” becomes “Had I the time”, “If you should have questions” becomes “Should you have questions”, “If I were rich” becomes “Were I rich”. The “if” disappears and the verb jumps to the front. In German the move is far more common — and once wenn is gone, the word order has to change.

With wenn	Without wenn
Wenn ich Geld hätte, ...	Hätte ich Geld, ...
Wenn er nicht gekommen wäre, ...	Wäre er nicht gekommen, ...
Wenn Sie Fragen haben, ...	Haben Sie Fragen, ...

As you can see, wenn drops out and the conjugated verb from the very end (hätte/wäre/haben) moves to the front.

Wüsste ich die Antwort, würde ich sie dir sagen.

If I knew the answer, I would tell you.

Table: three common uses

You can use conditionals without wenn anywhere, but you will meet them most often in these three situations:

Use	Example	Meaning
Konjunktiv II	Wäre ich reich, ...	If I were rich...
Regret about the past	Hätte ich das gewusst, ...	If I had known that...
Sollte (possibility)	Sollte er anrufen, ...	Should he call...

The “sollte” pattern (“in case it happens that ...”) in particular is a favourite in formal correspondence.

Sollten Sie Fragen haben, melden Sie sich.

Should you have any questions, get in touch.

The main-clause trap

Hätte ich Zeit, würde ich kommen.

Correct. The second clause starts with the verb.

Trap

Starting the second clause with the subject

When the condition starts with a verb, in standard German the main clause after the comma starts with a verb too (or with “so/dann”). Starting it with the subject is heard now and then in speech, but in writing and in exams it counts as wrong.

Hätte ich Zeit, ich würde kommen.

Wrong in standard German: the second clause doesn’t start with the subject. You may hear it in speech, but don’t write it.

Hätte ich Zeit, dann würde ich kommen.

Correct. “dann” or “so” can also go in between.

The reason is the same as in the weil vs. denn logic: because the first clause counts as a subordinate clause, it occupies position 1 of the main clause. So the verb has to come in position 2.

Practice now

What you just learned

___ ich das gewusst, hätte ich es dir gesagt.
Show the answer
Hätte — Regret about the past: Wissen (gewusst) takes haben (hätte) as its auxiliary. With no wenn, Hätte moves to the front.
The sentence “Hätte ich Zeit, so ich würde dir helfen.” is correct.
Show the answer
False — Wrong. When “so” is used, the verb has to follow straight after it: “... so würde ich dir helfen.”
___ ich mehr Geld, würde ich ein Auto kaufen.
Show the answer
Hätte — When there is no wenn, the Konjunktiv II verb (Hätte) goes to the very front.

The part nobody tells you: using “so” instead of “dann”

If you are writing a formal email (B2 Schreiben), use so instead of dann to connect the two clauses. It gives you the image of someone who has mastered business language (Geschäftssprache).

Sollten Sie Fragen haben, dann rufen Sie mich an.

Not wrong, but everyday language.

Sollten Sie Fragen haben, so rufen Sie mich an.

Much more professional and formal.

In writing, a verb-first conditional always looks more elegant than the standard sentence built with wenn.

06Build

Build the sentence yourself

Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.

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Tips

Know this before the test

The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.

wenn drops out, the conjugated verb moves to the front
Conditional clauses without wenn always start with the conjugated verb.
Wäre das Wetter schön, ...
The main clause starts with a verb or with so/dann
No subject after the comma: the verb comes directly (or so/dann + verb).
Hätte ich Zeit, würde ich dir helfen.
Sollte for possibility
For the meaning “in case ... should happen”, the verb sollten moves to the front.
Sollte er anrufen, sag ihm Bescheid.

Hätte ich das gewusst, ich wäre nicht gekommen.
Hätte ich das gewusst, wäre ich nicht gekommen.
In the main clause after the comma the verb (wäre) has to stay in second position — the whole condition counts as position 1.
Wenn hätte ich Zeit, würde ich kommen.
Hätte ich Zeit, würde ich kommen.
With wenn the verb goes last (Wenn ich Zeit hätte). Without wenn the verb goes first (Hätte ich Zeit).

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Test yourself

Tap an answer — we will look at why together.

ich mehr Geld, würde ich ein Auto kaufen.

If I had more money, I would buy a car.

When there is no wenn, the Konjunktiv II verb (Hätte) goes to the very front.

Sollten Sie Fragen haben, Sie uns gerne kontaktieren.

Should you have any questions, you are welcome to contact us.

The main clause after the comma has to start directly with the verb (können).

er nicht so spät gekommen, hätten wir den Zug erreicht.

If he hadn’t come so late, we would have caught the train.

Kommen is a verb of motion, so in the Perfekt and in Konjunktiv II it takes sein (wäre). With no wenn, the verb moves to the front.

Which one is correct?

After the comma a verb has to come (würde). Since there is no “wenn” in the first clause, the verb has moved to the front.

ich das gewusst, hätte ich es dir gesagt.

If I had known that, I would have told you.

Regret about the past: Wissen (gewusst) takes haben (hätte) as its auxiliary. With no wenn, Hätte moves to the front.

es regnen, bleiben wir zu Hause.

Should it rain, we’ll stay home.

When talking about the possibility of an event (“in case ...”), sollte (the Konjunktiv II form of sollen) moves to the front.

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