The result clause (Konsekutivsatz) is a subordinate clause used to express the result or consequence of an action that has already occurred in the past. Konsekutivsatz result clauses are formed by the conjunction
Consecutive clauses (Konsekutivsatz) are subordinate clauses used to express the result or consequence of an action that has occurred. Consecutive clauses (Konsekutivsatz) are formed by the conjunction "sodass". A clause with "sodass" is a "special" subordinate clause (Nebensatz) that we need to pay attention to when learning German. In today's article, we will explore what makes this clause "special".
1. The main clause (Hauptsatz) must come before the subordinate clause (Nebensatz) in order to emphasize the result/consequence of a particular action or event.
Example:
"Er hat jeden Tag sechzehn Stunden gearbeitet, sodass er krank wurde."
(He worked 16 hours every day, so that he became ill.)
2. "so" and "dass" can be separated. In that case, "so" can be placed before an adjective in the main clause:
"Es war so trocken, dass viele Flüsse und Seen austrockneten."
(The weather was so dry that many rivers and lakes dried up.)
This case is more commonly used. However, "so" and "dass" can only be separated if there is an adjective that is a key component of the main clause and plays a role in influencing the result in the subordinate clause. Consider the example:
„Ich habe vergessen meine schönen Blumen zu gießen, sodass ich mir jetzt neue Blumen kaufen muss."
(I forgot to water my beautiful flowers, so now I have to buy new flowers.)
⇒ Here, "schön" is an adjective, but "schön" only serves to modify the noun "Blumen" in the main clause. If "schön" were removed, it would have no effect whatsoever on the subordinate clause "sodass ich mir jetzt neue Blumen kaufen muss", so "sodass" cannot be split apart for use here.3. Result clauses with "sodass" can be replaced by result clauses using result adverbs such as: „also", „daher", „darum", „deswegen", „deshalb", „folglich", „infolgedessen".
- When combined with result adverbs, the result clause is separated into its own independent sentence. The adverbs can appear in position 1 or position 3.
Hauptsatz 1 | Hauptsatz 2 | ||
Position 1 | Verb | Ende | |
Der Sommer war viel zu heiß. | Infolgedessen | starben | viele ältere Menschen. |
Es gab viel zu wenig Wasser. | Viele Pflanzen | gingen | deshalb ein. |
Es fielen keine Niederschläge. | Folglich | kam | es vielerorts zu Waldbränden. |
Der Sommer war sehr trocken. | Daher | trockneten | viele Flüsse und Seen aus. |
" Es war so heiß, dass viele Wälder brannten."
(The weather was so hot that many forests caught fire.)
= Infolge der großen Hitze brannten viele Wälder.
Knowledge test
Consecutive clauses (Konsekutivsatz) in German
- 1.
Ich bin gestern früh ins Bett gegangen. Ich war heute ausgeschlafen.
- 2.
Wir sind sehr ........... wir schnell einschlafen.