In German, temporal subordinate clauses describe when something happens. These clauses often begin with als, wenn, or immer wenn. Though all three are translated into English as “when,” they are not interchangeable. Each one points to a different kind of relationship between time and the event being described. Understanding which to use depends on whether the action is in the past, whether it happens repeatedly, or whether it occurs in the present or future.
The conjunction als is used for single, completed events in the past. This includes actions that happened only once or were unique situations. For example:
Als ich in Berlin war, habe ich das Museum besucht.
“When I was in Berlin, I visited the museum.”
The use of als tells us the speaker was in Berlin once in the past. If the speaker had visited Berlin multiple times and was describing something that occurred repeatedly, wenn would be required instead.
Wenn refers to repeated events in the past or events in the present or future. The meaning becomes clear from context and verb tense.
Wenn ich nach Berlin fahre, besuche ich immer das Museum.
“When I go to Berlin, I always visit the museum.”
This shows a habit or repeated action. The verb tense is present, so the clause refers to something that still happens.
To avoid ambiguity when speaking about repeated past events, German often uses immer wenn. This makes it unmistakable that repetition is meant, not a one-time occurrence.
Immer wenn ich als Kind meine Großeltern besuchte, bekam ich Schokolade.
“Whenever I visited my grandparents as a child, I got chocolate.”
Here, immer wenn highlights the regularity of the visits and the repeated outcome. If only wenn were used, the meaning would still be clear in many cases, but immer wenn makes the repetition explicit.
There are other ways of expressing temporal relations without using these conjunctions. For example, adverbial phrases can replace the clause entirely.
Während meiner Kindheit bekam ich bei meinen Großeltern immer Schokolade.
“During my childhood, I always got chocolate at my grandparents’.”
Here, a prepositional phrase with während replaces the need for a full subordinate clause. Another possibility:
Nach dem Besuch bei meinen Großeltern gab es immer Schokolade.
“After visiting my grandparents, there was always chocolate.”
These constructions allow the speaker to vary sentence structure while preserving the temporal meaning.
In English, we don’t have distinct words like als and wenn to mark one-time or repeated past actions. The distinction is often made through context, or sometimes with words like “whenever” for repeated events.
Compare:
“When I saw him, he waved.” (a specific instance)
“Whenever I saw him, he waved.” (repeated action)
In German, you must choose the appropriate word depending on whether the action was once, habitual, or yet to occur.
Als ich ihn sah, winkte er.
“When I saw him, he waved.”
Immer wenn ich ihn sah, winkte er.
“Whenever I saw him, he waved.”
Wenn ich ihn sehe, winkt er.
“When I see him, he waves.”
Though all translate to “when” in English, German distinguishes clearly between these cases, and this distinction reflects the structure of the event in time. The choice between als, wenn, and immer wenn depends not only on verb tense but also on the frequency of the action being described.