Two-word Coordinating Conjunctions

There are a few coordinating conjunctions that consist of two parts, one for each of the independent clauses. The first part often follows the verb of the first clause (Position 3), while the second part is in Position 0 or else Position 1 of the second sentence:

1. Oder indicates that two statements form a set of alternatives. In order to indicate the alternatives even more explicitly one may use entweder ..... oder. Entweder is either in Position 1 or 3 of the first sentence, oder is, as always, in Position 0:

         Entweder kommt er heute oder er kommt gar nicht.
         Er kommt entweder heute oder er kommt gar nicht.

2. If the statement of the second sentence adds supplementary information to the statement of the first sentence one uses the coordinating conjunctions nicht nur ...., sondern auch. Nicht nur is almost always in Position 3 of the first sentence, sondern--as always--in Position 0, but auch is in Position 3 of the second sentence.

         Sie singt nicht nur gut, sondern sie spielt auch gut Klavier.

3. Weder - noch expresses a negation of both clauses. Weder is almost always in Position 3 (but rarely in Position 1) of the first sentence; noch follows in the second sentence in Position 1. Notice that the subject of the second sentence must move to a position after the verb.

         Meine Frau liebt weder die See, noch möchte sie ins Gebirge.

<< back