Two-part conjunctions in German — entweder…oder, je…desto

01

Right now: six patterns

This builds on

A2 · Conjunctions (und · aber · denn)A1 · Negation (nicht · kein)

If you know the one-word conjunctions, this page covers their two-winged version: one half opens in one spot of the sentence, the other closes in another.

ShortcutBoth halves join the same kind of thing: two nouns, two adjectives or two clauses — never a mix. And weder … noch is already negative, so you never add nicht.

Pattern	In English	Example
entweder … oder	either … or	Ich nehme entweder den Bus oder den Zug.
weder … noch	neither … nor	Ich trinke weder Kaffee noch Tee.
sowohl … als auch	both … and	Ich spreche sowohl Türkisch als auch Deutsch.
nicht nur … sondern auch	not only … but also	Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern auch klug.
zwar … aber	admittedly … but	Das Auto ist zwar alt, aber gut.
je … desto / umso	the more … the more	Je mehr ich lerne, desto besser verstehe ich.

Everything except the last row leaves the word order alone — you drop the words in place and the sentence holds. je … desto imposes its own order; it has a section of its own.

02

You already do this in English — “neither … nor” included

English has counterparts for these patterns, which makes your life easier. One of them even shares German’s odd rule: in English, too, a sentence with “neither … nor” keeps a positive verb.

Neither my mom nor my dad came.

Positive verb — we don’t say “didn’t come”.

Ich trinke weder Kaffee noch Tee.

Same logic: no nicht, positive verb.

Ich trinke nicht weder Kaffee noch Tee.

Double negative — wrong in German, too.

So for this one rule you have a head start: your English instinct works here. Once you notice that, weder … noch stops causing trouble.

weder … noch can be stretched to more than two items: weder A noch B noch C — every new item is added with noch.

03

Word order: when it flips

Most of these patterns sit in the middle of the sentence and break nothing. But when one half moves to the front, it takes the first slot and the subject drops behind the verb — the verb-second rule works as always.

Sentence	Order	Why
Wir fahren entweder nach Berlin oder nach Köln.	normal	pattern in the middle, no slot taken
Entweder fahren wir nach Berlin, oder wir bleiben hier.	inverted	entweder is in the first slot
Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern er ist auch klug.	normal	sondern sits in position 0

oder and sondern are always in position 0 — the sentence carries on normally after them. It is the same rule as for the five conjunctions on the conjunctions page.

Trap 1

Joining two different kinds of thing

After the two halves, the same kind of thing has to follow: two nouns, two adjectives, two clauses. Learners put a noun after one half and a clause after the other, and the sentence falls apart.

Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern auch er hat Geld.

One adjective, one clause — unbalanced.

Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern auch klug.

Two adjectives — balanced.

Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern er hat auch Geld.

Two full clauses — this works, too.

Notice that auch moved in the second sentence: when you join full clauses, auch goes behind the verb. A small detail, but exams ask about it.

04

je … desto: German’s strangest word order

This pattern matches English “the more I study, the better I understand”. The meaning is easy, the order is hard — because the two halves follow two different rules.

Half	Structure	Where the verb goes
je + comparative	subordinate clause	AT THE END
desto / umso + comparative	main clause	RIGHT AFTER IT (second slot)

So two separate verb rules run inside one sentence at the same time. That is why you should memorise not a rule but the pattern itself.

Je mehr ich lerne, desto besser verstehe ich.

The more I study, the better I understand.

Je älter man wird, desto schneller vergeht die Zeit.

The older you get, the faster time passes.

Je mehr ich lerne ich, desto besser ich verstehe.

Both halves are wrong.

Both sides require the comparative (Komparativ): mehr · besser · älter · schneller · weniger. How to build these forms is on the adjective degrees page.

desto and umso are exactly the same; both are used. If you hesitate, write desto — it is more common.

05

The part nobody tells you: zwar is a softening signal

Textbooks translate zwar … aber as “admittedly … but” and move on. In German it has a social job: it is the standard way to say “I’m about to object, but first I’m giving you that point” — you hear it constantly in meetings, debates and job interviews.

Die Wohnung ist zwar klein, aber sehr hell.

The flat is small, yes — but very bright.

Zwar habe ich wenig Zeit, aber ich helfe dir.

I don’t have much time, true — but I’ll help you.

The key point: the weight is always on the side after aber. If a rental ad says zwar klein, aber sehr hell, the seller is selling the “bright” side. Learners who read it the other way round miss the tone of the sentence.

The second unspoken thing: sowohl … als auch is written language. In speech, Germans mostly say … und … auch. In an exam essay sowohl … als auch shows level; used in a café, you sound like you are talking out of a textbook.

06

What to do this week

This topic works by describing one subject with six patterns. Five minutes a day:

Pick one topic — say, the city you live in.
Build six sentences with the six patterns: entweder…oder · weder…noch · sowohl…als auch · nicht nur…sondern auch · zwar…aber · je…desto.
Check that your weder … noch sentence has no nicht.
In your je … desto sentence, mark the two verbs: one at the end, one right behind the comparative.
Once a week, move entweder to the front of a sentence and write out the flipped subject.

Next up: indirect questions — putting a question inside a sentence, and ob.

07Build

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.

tap the words
tap the words
tap the words

Tips

Know this before the test

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

Don’t mix the halves
The two halves of each pattern are fixed and never swap. The moment you write one half, the other is decided.
sowohl … als auch · nicht nur … sondern auch · weder … noch · entweder … oder
Join the same kind of thing
The same kind of thing follows both halves: two nouns, two adjectives or two clauses. Put an adjective after one half and a full clause after the other and the sentence is unbalanced.
Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern auch klug.
Don’t add nicht to weder … noch
The pattern is already negative and the verb stays positive — exactly the logic of English “neither … nor”. With more than two items, each new one is added with noch again.
Ich trinke weder Kaffee noch Tee.
At the front, the subject flips
While the pattern sits in the middle of the sentence, the word order is untouched. But when one half moves to the front, it takes the first slot and the verb steps forward to stay second. oder and sondern sit in position 0 — the sentence carries on in normal order after them. entweder is flexible here: Entweder wir fahren … is correct too.
Entweder fahren wir nach Berlin, oder wir bleiben hier.
je at the end, desto right behind
Two separate verb rules work in one sentence: the half starting with je is a subordinate clause, so the verb goes to the end; in the desto half the verb sits right behind the comparative. Both sides require the comparative (Komparativ).
Je mehr ich lerne, desto besser verstehe ich.

Ich trinke nicht weder Kaffee noch Tee.
Ich trinke weder Kaffee noch Tee.
weder … noch is already negative, so nicht doesn’t belong with it. English works the same way: “neither my mom nor my dad came” — the verb stays positive.
Sie arbeitet sowohl in Köln und auch in Bonn.
Sie arbeitet sowohl in Köln als auch in Bonn.
English “both … and” makes und feel natural in the second half. In German this half is fixed as als auch.
Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern auch er hat Geld.
Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern er hat auch Geld.
The mistake is where auch sits. When a full clause follows, auch can’t stay glued to sondern; it moves behind the verb. If you prefer balance, make the second half an adjective, too: … sondern auch klug.
Je mehr ich lerne ich, desto besser ich verstehe.
Je mehr ich lerne, desto besser verstehe ich.
Both halves were treated as main clauses. The je half is a subordinate clause (verb at the end); in the desto half the verb sits right behind the comparative.
Er spricht weder Englisch noch Französisch und Spanisch.
Er spricht weder Englisch noch Französisch noch Spanisch.
In an English list you close the chain with “and”, so und is tempting here. In German the chain doesn’t break: weder A noch B noch C.

0705:50

Test yourself

Tap an answer — we will look at why together.

Ich trinke Kaffee ___ Tee.

I drink neither coffee nor tea.

weder … noch. The pattern itself is already negative — no extra nicht. Exactly the logic of English “neither … nor”.

Je mehr ich lerne, verstehe ich.

The more I study, the better I understand.

desto besser. Right after desto comes the comparative, then the verb. besser, not gut.

Which sentence is wrong?

Either we drive to Berlin, or we stay here.

Entweder wir nach Berlin fahren … is wrong: entweder does not start a subordinate clause, so it does not send the verb to the end. After entweder at the front, both orders are correct: if it takes the first slot, the verb moves forward (Entweder fahren wir …); if it stays outside, the subject stays in front (Entweder wir fahren …).

Which one is balanced?

The first one. The same kind of thing must follow both halves — here two adjectives. In the third the second half is wrong: the partner of nicht nur is sondern auch.

Die Wohnung ist klein, ___ sehr hell. Where does the emphasis fall?

zwar … aber, and the weight is always on the side after aber. The speaker concedes that the flat is small and puts the brightness first.

Je früher , desto besser ist es. (to get up early = aufstehen)

The earlier we get up, the better it is.

wir aufstehen. The half starting with je is a subordinate clause, so the conjugated verb goes to the end. A separable verb doesn’t split in a subordinate clause; the prefix sticks to the verb: Je früher wir aufstehen …. wir stehen auf is the main-clause habit; stehen wir auf puts the verb in second position — neither is valid in a subordinate clause.

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Indirect questions

ob · wo · wann · wie

Indirect questions are questions asked in a roundabout, embedded way instead of directly: ob, wo, wann, wie.

The B1 path · step 11 / 20

Sentence structure

Two-part conjunctions

Right now: six patterns

You already do this in English — “neither … nor” included

Word order: when it flips

je … desto: German’s strangest word order

The part nobody tells you: zwar is a softening signal

What you just learned

What to do this week

Build the sentence yourself

Know this before the test

Test yourself

Two-part conjunctions worksheet

If this clicked, go here next

Indirect questions

Related topics

Conjunctions

kein & nicht

Comparative and superlative