11.1 Word Order: Dependent Clauses

When we use a conjunction such as „wenn“ (when, if) or „weil“ (because) to add a modifying clause to a sentence:
Mehmet hört Musik, wenn er traurig ist.	Mehmet listens to music whenever he is sad.
Renate geht nach Hause, weil sie müde ist.	Renate is going home because she is tired.
In the previous examples, the first clause is the main clause. The clause introduced by a conjunction is called a dependent clause. In German, the verb in a dependent clause occurs at the end of the clause.
MAIN CLAUSE	DEPENTENT CLAUSE
Ich bleibe im Bett,	wenn ich krank bin.
I stay in bed	when I am sick.
In sentences beginning with a dependent clause, the entire clause acts as the first element in the sentence. The verb of the main clause comes directly after the dependent clause, separated by a comma. As in all German statements, the verb is in second position. The subject of the main clause follows the verb.
I	II	III
DEPENTENT CLAUSE	VERB	SUBJECT
Wenn ich krank bin,	bleibe	ich	im Bett.
When I’m sick, I stay in bed.
Weil sie müde ist,	geht	Renate	nach Hause.
Because she’s tired, Renate is going home.