Distinguishing ohne, ohne...dass and ohne...zu in German

In German, we will encounter ohne and similar conjunctions such as ohne…dass and ohne…zu. There are differences in how they are used. In today's article, we will explore them together.

Let's get started!!!

1. Ohne

• Ohne is a preposition meaning "without," and it can be followed by a noun, noun phrase, or personal pronoun.

• Ohne takes the Akkusativ to form a prepositional phrase.

Ohne meine Brille kann ich nicht sehen.

(Without my glasses, I cannot see.)

Wir wollen ohne dich nicht kommen.

(We don't want to come without you.)

• When a noun referring to a thing is not accompanied by a possessive pronoun, the article can be omitted.

Er ging ohne Abschied ins Ausland.

(He went abroad without saying goodbye.)

***Note: Ohne + Akkusativ can stand in position one in the sentence or appear within the sentence according to the TEKAMOLO rule.

Er ging nach dem Studium wegen eines Streits mit seinen Eltern ohne Abschied ins Ausland.

= Ohne Abschied ging er nach dem Studium wegen eines Streits mit seinen Eltern ins Ausland.

(After graduating, he went abroad without a word of farewell because of an argument with his parents.)

       T: nach dem Studium

       K: wegen eines Streits mit seinen Eltern

       M: ohne Abschied

       L: ins Ausland

2. Ohne…dass and ohne…zu

• Both mean "without"

• The two clauses are separated from each other by a comma

  ohne…dass	ohne…zu
  Connects 2 clauses with the same or different subjects Used with a Nebensatz → the verb is placed at the end of the clause The two clauses can be swapped in position	Connects two clauses with the same subject → the subject of the subordinate clause is omitted, leaving only the main verb Used with zu + Infinitiv (verb in the infinitive form) The two clauses cannot be swapped
  Er ging an uns vorbei, ohne dass wir ihn bemerkt haben. = Ohne dass wir ihn bemerkt haben, ging er an uns vorbei.   (He walked past us without us noticing him.) → Subject 1: er; Subject 2: wir → Use the structure ohne…dass + Nebensatz	Ich mache Sport, ohne abzunehmen. (I exercise without losing weight.)