I’m confused with obwohl and trotzdem usage practice. I do know their meaning (although and despite of, respectively) but what I don’t understand is when exactly I should use obwohl, when trotzdem and when I can exchange them?
The problem is that English is not my native language either, thus the simple rule: “if you would use although in English put obwohl in German” doesn’t really help me, I don’t feel which of them should I use.
For instance:
- Clarissa bleibt nicht im Bett, obwohl sie krank ist.
versus
- Clarissa bleibt nicht im Bett, trotzdem ist sie krank.
Are both these sentences OK both from the grammatical and style points of view?
Or should I use only one of them?
Could you, please, clarify how I can understand which of these two connection words I should use?
P.S. I read the question and this explanation but still feel that I’m guessing and don’t really know for sure the correct answer.