German Connectors Explained: The Word-Order Trap at B1/B2

German connectors decide whether your sentences sound like a native speaker’s or like a list of facts stapled together. And there’s one specific mistake — call it the Trotzdem Trap — that trips up learners who have already memorized dozens of connectors but still get the word order wrong every single time.

Here’s the problem in one sentence: obwohl and trotzdem both mean “although / nevertheless,” but they behave completely differently in a German sentence. Mix them up, and an examiner immediately hears that your grammar is shaky, even if your vocabulary is excellent. The same trap catches weil vs. deshalb, and it’s one of the most common errors examiners flag in the Schreiben section of Goethe, telc, and ÖSD B1/B2 exams.

This article walks through exactly why this happens, gives you a clean system for sorting any connector into the right category, and finishes with a short self-test so you can check whether the trap still gets you.

---

The Trotzdem Trap: One Meaning, Two Different Word Orders

Look at these two correct sentences:

• Er ist zur Arbeit gegangen, obwohl er krank war.
• Er war krank. Trotzdem ist er zur Arbeit gegangen.

Both express the same idea — “he went to work although/despite being sick” — but the verb sits in a completely different spot in each. In the first sentence, obwohl pushes the verb (war) to the very end of its clause. In the second, trotzdem starts the sentence and the verb (ist) comes immediately after it, with the subject er pushed to third position.

Learners who’ve drilled “obwohl = verb at the end” often panic when trotzdem shows up and try to force the verb to the end there too — producing the incorrect “Trotzdem er ist zur Arbeit gegangen.” That’s the Trotzdem Trap, and the fix isn’t memorizing more words — it’s understanding that German connectors fall into three distinct families, each with its own word-order rule.

---

The Three Families of German Connectors

Once you sort a connector into its family, the word order becomes automatic. Here’s the system.

1. Coordinating Connectors — No Change at All

These words simply glue two independent clauses together. They don’t occupy a grammatical “slot,” so the verb stays in its normal second position in both clauses.

Connector	Meaning	Example
und	and	Ich packe die Koffer, und meine Schwester bucht die Flüge.
aber	but	Er wollte pünktlich abreisen, aber der Zug hatte Verspätung.
oder	or	Wir bleiben zu Hause, oder wir bestellen etwas zum Abendessen.
denn	because/for	Sie nimmt nicht am Wettbewerb teil, denn sie hat sich verletzt.
sondern	but rather	Er fährt nicht mit dem Auto, sondern er nimmt den Zug.

Note that denn looks like it should behave like “weil,” but it doesn’t — it’s coordinating, so the verb stays in position two.

2. Subordinating Connectors — Verb to the End

These connectors introduce a dependent clause and send the conjugated verb straight to the end of that clause.

Connector	Meaning	Example
weil	because	Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich mich erkältet habe.
obwohl	although	Sie war zufrieden, obwohl die Prüfung schwierig war.
während	while	Während er kochte, deckte sie den Tisch.
nachdem	after	Nachdem sie die Prüfung bestanden hatte, feierte sie mit Freunden.
damit	so that	Damit du das Formular fristgerecht abschickst, brauchst du eine Unterschrift.
zumal (B2)	especially since	Sie kündigte ihren Vertrag, zumal ihr Gehalt seit Jahren nicht gestiegen war.

If you’re unsure why the verb jumps to the end here rather than staying put, it helps to review how German verb conjugation works across clause types — subordinating connectors don’t change the verb form, only its position.

3. Adverbial Connectors — Position One, Then Inversion

This is the family that causes the Trotzdem Trap. Words like deshalb, trotzdem, and außerdem are technically adverbs, not conjunctions. When you place one at the start of a sentence, it fills position one — which means the subject has to move to position three, right after the verb.

Connector	Meaning	Example
deshalb / deswegen	therefore	Es regnete stark; deshalb verschob man das Fest.
trotzdem	nevertheless	Die Prüfung war schwierig; trotzdem hat sie bestanden.
außerdem	besides	Der Flug fiel aus; außerdem verlor die Airline ihr Gepäck.
allerdings (B2)	however	Die Firma zahlt niedrige Löhne; allerdings bietet sie flexible Arbeitszeiten.
dennoch (B2)	nevertheless	Er hatte keine Berufserfahrung; dennoch bekam er die Stelle.
folglich (B2)	consequently	Er hatte kein Geld dabei; folglich musste er zu Fuß gehen.

Notice that the verb is always in second position overall — it’s just that the connector, not the subject, occupies the first slot. That’s exactly the same principle you see with German modal verbs like musste above: the conjugated verb stays in slot two, and the infinitive (gehen) waits at the end.

---

Side by Side: Same Meaning, Different Family

Seeing the same idea expressed with a subordinating connector and then an adverbial one makes the pattern impossible to forget.

Reason and result:

• Ich habe jeden Tag geübt, weil ich die Prüfung bestehen wollte. (subordinating — verb at the end)
• Ich habe jeden Tag geübt. Deshalb habe ich die Prüfung bestanden. (adverbial — inversion)

Contrast:

• Er ist zur Arbeit gegangen, obwohl er krank war. (subordinating)
• Er war krank. Trotzdem ist er zur Arbeit gegangen. (adverbial)

Once you can produce both versions of a sentence confidently, the Trotzdem Trap loses its power over you.

---

B2 Extension: Two-Part Connectors and Formal Register

At B2 level, exams expect more sophisticated linking, especially in the Schreiben section. Two areas are worth extra attention.

Two-Part Connectors

Connector pair	Meaning	Example
je … desto	the more … the more	Je mehr du übst, desto sicherer wirst du.
sowohl … als auch	both … and	Sowohl die Prüfung