Als und Wenn are two conjunctions both used in temporal subordinate clauses and both meaning "When", both answering the question Wann?, so it is very easy to mistakenly think that these two words are used in the same way and can replace each other in every situation.
Als and Wenn are two conjunctions both used in temporal subordinate clauses and both meaning "When," both answering the question Wann?, which is why it is very easy to confuse them and assume that the two words are used in the same way and can replace each other in every situation. This is a basic grammar mistake that many people make while learning German A1. So let's explore the difference between Als and Wenn in the article below!!
1) When is Als used?
- Als is only used to indicate events and actions that occurred in the past and happened only once.
VD1: Als sie 29 Jahre alt war, heiratete sie. (She got married at the age of 29)
We use als in this case because she has already been through the age of 29, and only once in her lifetime.
VD2: Sie war sehr frech, als sie jung war. (When she was young, she was very mischievous)
The event of being young happens only once in each person's life, so we use als to describe it.
2) When is Wenn used?
- Used to express actions or events that occur multiple times or are repeated in the past, through the adverb jedes Mal.
VD: Sie aß jedes Mal einen großen Hamburger wenn sie Hunger hatte. (Every time she was hungry, she ate a big Hamburger)
The sentence above describes a repeated action in the past, so we use the conjunction Wenn.
- In addition, Wenn is also used in both the present and future tenses.
VD1: Wann fängst du mit Schule an? (When do you start school?)
Ich fange jedes Jahr mit der Schule an, wenn der September beginnt. (I start school at the beginning of September every year.)
In the sentence above, Wenn is used because the event of me going to school happens every year, recurring in the present.VD2: Ich werde dich morgen begleiten, wenn du zum Flughafen gehst. (Tomorrow, I will go with you when you head to the airport.)
Wenn is used in the future tense through the adverb morgen.
VD3: Hannah ist immer schüchtern, wenn sie neue Leute kennenlernt. (Hannah is always shy when making new friends.)
Besides the adverb jedes Mal, immer also commonly appears in sentences to indicate a repeated action.
Knowledge test
Distinguishing als and wenn in Nebensatz
- 1.
...... es regnet, gehe ich nicht spazieren.
- 2.
....... ich 8 Jahre alt war, ging ich mit meinen Eltern nach Berlin.
- 3.
...... ich Zeit habe, besuche ich meine Großeltern.