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I'm very stuck on how to express the idea of "whenever" in German sentences.
Take the example, "You can come round whenever suits you best", which I just wanted to say to my landlord about repairing something.
How best do I say this? I was stuck for ages because I couldn't work out if it was supposed to be "wann auch immer" or if it could just be "wann immer"?
What is the difference between the two?
whenever translates to several expressions in German:
One is relating to the frequency of doing something like in "Come areound whenever (as often as) you like", this would translate into
Komm' vorbei sooft du magst.
The other one relates to "any time" and is a nearly literal one
Komm' vorbei wann (auch) immer du magst.
Or, simply leave out the "ever" - it doesn't carry a lot of meaning (like it does in English) and say
Komm' vorbei wann du magst.
The phrase wann auch immer isn't really used much in German. Google Ngram Viewer tells us that it is comparatively rare in books:
To me the phrase wann auch immer carries a connotation of disinterest:
Sie können kommen, wann immer sie wollen. "Whenever you want to come is perfectly fine with me."
Sie können kommen, wann auch immer sie wollen, ich werde sie nicht hereinlassen. "I don't give a wet fart about when you want to come, you'll not get in."
