How to build a phrase with “well” or “wann” in Luxembourgish

Are you struggling with the Luxembourgish word order when using words such as well or wann?

Well & wann are words called conjunctions. A conjunction connects phrases (main & subordinate part). There are several conjunctions but we will concentrate in this lesson on 2 of them – probably the most common ones –  which DO change the word order:

Well & Wann

Well means because and wann either means if or when and they are subordinate conjunctions. This means that they introduce a subordinate clause (= a dependent phrase which cannot stand on its own). 

Let’s take the following example:

Hatt geet bei den Dokter. Hatt ass krank.

Remember the most important rule about the word order: the verb is ALWAYS the second element in a main clause!

We have 2 separate phrases. But we can combine these 2 phrases with a conjunction:

• Hatt geet bei den Dokter, well hatt krank ass. – She goes to the doctor because she is sick.

As you can see well is followed by the subject – hatt – and the verb is at the end of the clause.

☛The subordinate conjunction well pushes the verb to the very end of the sentence.

The same applies with wann:

• Hatt geet bei den Dokter, wann hatt krank ass. – She goes to the doctor when she is sick.

Rule: 

Main clause, subordinate conjunction + subject + ….. + verb

Remark: note the comma before the subordinate conjunction. 

What happens if the subordinate clause comes before the main clause?

Then we have the rule: Verb – comma – Verb

Beispiller (examples):

Wann hatt krank ass, geet hatt bei den Dokter.
Well hatt krank ass, geet hatt bei den Dokter.

You can watch this lesson on Youtube!

Let’s practice:

1. Try to combine the 2 sentences into one with either well or wann!
2. Write the same sentence by starting with the subordinate clause!

1. Mir bleiwen haut doheem. Et reent.
2. Ech gi Vëlo fueren. D’Wieder ass schéin. 
3. Ech maachen haut kee Sport. Ech muss laang schaffen.
4. Hie léiert Lëtzebuergesch. Hie wëll Leit kenneléieren.
5. Ech gi meng Elteren besichen. Ech hunn de Weekend Zäit.

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Practise with this FREE lesson of my 10 day online course:

Understand the Basics of Luxembourgish Sentence Structure

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