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I have started my A2 class today and for the homework we are supposed to convert text about a person (Alice) to first person format. I have not learned formulating compound sentences in A1 fully (only the usage of and was taught). So, I am finding the following sentence hard to understand.

This is the original text.

Alice kommt aus Brno, auf Deutsch Brünn. Sie hat als Kind einen Deutschkurs an der staatlichen Sprachschule besucht und später am Gymnasium weiter Deutsch gelernt, weil ihr Deutsch Spaß gemacht hat.

This is how I have converted the text to first person.

Ich komme aus Brno, auf Deutsch Brünn. Ich habe als Kind einen Deutschkurs an der staatlichen Sprachschule besucht und später am Gymnasium weiter Deutsch gelernt, weil mir Deutsch Spaß gemacht hat.

I am able to understand the logic/structure until "Ich habe als Kind ... gelernt". But after that, I am not able to understand how "weil mir ... hat." is made. I learned that the partizip II word should always come in the end of a sentence. So, should it not be,

weil mir hat Deutsch Spaß gemacht

What rule is being applied here? Is it because there are two conjunctions in the compound sentence?

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  • I'll leave the answer to those who know this properly (I'm only just beginning C1, so likely have errors in terminology) but the issue here is that weil is a subjunktion, not a conjunction. The rule for subjunktions is that they introduce a nebensatz with all the verbs going at the end (where modal verbs and haben/sein come at the very end after other verbs - you sort of grab all the verbs that are usually at the front and tack them on the end in reverse order). From my memory of A2 you should be introduced to the subjunktions in the next few weeks - with weil being one of the very first!
    – David Hall
    Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 16:09
  • So whichever verb comes at the end remains there and the conjugated form of the verb (be it hilfes verb or modal verb) comes at the end.
    – thandasoru
    Commented Jan 6, 2013 at 9:41

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Subordinate conjunctions like weil, dass, ob, wenn, etc. shift the conjugated verb to the end of the sentence. If the conjugated form uses a helping verb with a participle (hat gemacht), then the verb (hat) goes to the end even past the participle (gemacht). Sometimes in colloquial speech you'll hear people say something like, "...weil es hat Spaß gemacht" but it's not grammatically correct.

Here are a few English pages that discuss these kinds of conjunctions and constructions:

Link1

Link2

Link3

Link4

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  • Great explanation.. So there is a rule with weil. Thank you for the links
    – thandasoru
    Commented Jan 6, 2013 at 9:39
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    @thandasoru It's not a rule about "weil" it's a rule about all subordinate clauses, including e.g. relative clauses: "Deutsch ist eine Srache, bei der mir der Unterricht Spaß gemacht hat."
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Commented Jan 6, 2013 at 11:05
  • Oh, so is this sentence formation correct? Habe ich Ihnen sagen, dass ich 100 in Prüfung bekommen habe? (Did I tell you that I got 100 in the Test)
    – thandasoru
    Commented Jan 7, 2013 at 3:26

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