Temporal clause

A temporal clause or temporal clause is a subordinate clause that describes an independent situation and chronologically assigns it to the content of the main clause , namely as premature , later or simultaneously . It is therefore an adverbial determination of time in the form of an adverbial sentence . Frequent conjunctions in German are “als”, “after”, “during” and “before”.

Simultaneous time relationship , past tense in the main clause and in the subordinate clause:

Er ging nach Hause, als die Glocke läutete.

Premature tense relationship , past tense in main clause, past perfect in subordinate clause:

Er ging nach Hause, nachdem die Glocke geläutet hatte.

Subsequent time relationship , present tense in the main and subordinate clauses.

Der Schaffner weckt ihn, bevor der Zug ankommt.

See also

• Temporal clause in the Spanish language

Web links

Wiktionary: Temporal clause  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations