1

Can I use obwohl after dass in the following sentence?

Ich finde besonders interessant an dieser Statistik, dass obwohl Deutsch die am meisten gesprochene Sprache in Europa ist, Englisch die am meisten gesprochene Fremdsprache ist.

7
  • Tell us why you don't think it would be right.
    – Beta
    Feb 12, 2017 at 16:23
  • It sounds good to me I just wanted to ask someone who speaks the language better than me
    – Marcus
    Feb 12, 2017 at 16:28
  • 2
    It is correct, but you need to insert a comma between "dass" and "obwohl", since the interjection "obwohl die Deutsch am meisten gesprochen Sprache in Europa ist" is a subclause. Feb 12, 2017 at 17:06
  • 1
    @Uwe Der Titel ist ein Titel und kein Bestandteil der Frage …
    – Jan
    Feb 12, 2017 at 22:09
  • 1
    @Jan: …sondern der letzten? Feb 12, 2017 at 22:34

2 Answers 2

6

The structure of the sentence becomes more obvious if the "obwohl" part is moved to the end:

Ich finde besonders interessant an dieser Statistik, dass Englisch die am meisten gesprochene Fremdsprache ist, obwohl Deutsch die am meisten gesprochene Sprache in Europa ist.

That is, the "obwohl" clause is a subclause of the "dass" clause, which is a subclause of the main clause.

You can move the "obwohl" clause from final position to middle position, but you need to enclose it within commas:

Ich finde besonders interessant an dieser Statistik, dass, obwohl Deutsch die am meisten gesprochene Sprache in Europa ist, Englisch die am meisten gesprochene Fremdsprache ist.

In fact, you could also move it after the subject of the "dass" clause:

Ich finde besonders interessant an dieser Statistik, dass Englisch, obwohl Deutsch die am meisten gesprochene Sprache in Europa ist, die am meisten gesprochene Fremdsprache ist.

(Admittedly, the last sentence sounds a bit confusing, but grammatically, it's legal.)

1

No, this sentence is grammatically wrong. The part beginning with "obwohl" is a subclause. It can easily be corrected by putting a comma in between "dass" and "obwohl":

Ich finde besonders interessant an dieser Statistik, dass, obwohl Deutsch die am meisten gesprochene Sprache in Europa ist, Englisch die am meisten gesprochene Fremdsprache ist.

2
  • 2
    The sentence is not grammatically wrong; if anything, it is punctuationally wrong.
    – Jan
    Feb 12, 2017 at 22:11
  • 2
    @Jan The missing comma is not just punctuation like semicolon instead of fullstop, it really leads the grammar astray beacuse "dass obwohl" is syntactically incorrect, and syntax is grammar. It is really inappropriate that you downvote my answer Feb 13, 2017 at 9:32

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.