Argumentative connectors and word order
Beyond the basic und / aber / oder / weil / dass, German has a rich set of adverbial connectors that hold an argument together: allerdings (however), jedoch (yet/however), dennoch / trotzdem (nevertheless), deshalb / deswegen / folglich (therefore), außerdem / zudem (in addition), einerseits … andererseits (on the one hand … on the other), zwar … aber (admittedly … but), sowohl … als auch (both … and), entweder … oder (either … or), weder … noch (neither … nor). The trick is word order: most of these are adverbs, not subordinators — they sit in position 1 of the main clause, which means the verb must come second (inversion). Es regnete. Trotzdem gingen wir spazieren. = It was raining. Nevertheless we went for a walk. Contrast that with weil / obwohl (subordinators → verb final). This lesson teaches you to argue, contrast, and conclude in a B2-level register.
Connector vs subordinator vs coordinator
Three categories with three different word-order rules. (1) Coordinators (und, aber, oder, denn, sondern): keep normal main-clause order on both sides. Ich bin müde, aber ich gehe ins Kino. (2) Subordinators (weil, obwohl, dass, wenn, als): send the verb to the END of their clause. Ich gehe ins Kino, obwohl ich müde bin. (3) Adverbial connectors (deshalb, trotzdem, jedoch, allerdings, dennoch, außerdem, folglich): take position 1 of a main clause, force inversion (verb second, subject after). Ich bin müde. Trotzdem gehe ich ins Kino. Same meaning as #2; different mechanics. Don't confuse trotzdem (adverb, position 1) with obwohl (subordinator, verb-final).
Contrast — allerdings, jedoch, dennoch, trotzdem
All four signal contrast, with shades of meaning. allerdings = however, mind you (often a soft qualifier): Das Buch ist gut. Allerdings ist es lang. jedoch = however / yet (more formal, written): Er versprach zu kommen, jedoch erschien er nicht. dennoch = nevertheless (formal, often after concession): Es war kalt; dennoch blieb sie draußen. trotzdem = nevertheless (everyday speech, slightly stronger): Ich war müde. Trotzdem bin ich gekommen. All four go in position 1 of the second clause and trigger inversion. trotzdem is also possible mid-sentence as an adverb, but position 1 is the most common.
Consequence — deshalb, deswegen, daher, folglich
These all mean 'therefore / so / for that reason' and work the same way. deshalb = therefore (everyday): Es regnet. Deshalb bleibe ich zu Hause. deswegen = synonym, slight stylistic difference: Es war zu spät. Deswegen sind wir nicht mehr gegangen. daher = hence (slightly more formal): Er ist krank. Daher kann er nicht kommen. folglich = consequently (formal/written): Die Tür war geschlossen. Folglich kamen wir nicht herein. All four sit in position 1 → verb second → subject after the verb. They replace English 'therefore / so / hence / consequently'. NOTE: so in German is NOT a connector meaning 'therefore'; it's an adverb meaning 'thus / so / like that'.
Addition — außerdem, zudem, ferner, darüber hinaus
außerdem = besides / in addition: Sie ist klug. Außerdem ist sie nett. = She's clever. Besides, she's kind. zudem = moreover (more formal): Das Buch ist teuer. Zudem ist es schwer zu lesen. ferner = furthermore (very formal/legal). darüber hinaus = beyond that. All take position 1 + inversion. Use außerdem in everyday speech and zudem / ferner in writing. Common rookie mistake: starting clauses with also, which actually means 'so / therefore' in German, NOT 'also' as in English. The English 'also' is auch.
Paired connectors — einerseits…andererseits, zwar…aber
Two-part connectors that frame a balanced argument. einerseits … andererseits = on the one hand … on the other (hand): Einerseits ist die Stadt teuer, andererseits ist sie wunderschön. Both parts go in position 1, both trigger inversion. zwar … aber = admittedly … but (concession + counter): Das Auto ist zwar alt, aber es funktioniert noch gut. = The car is admittedly old, but it still works well. zwar is mid-clause; aber opens the second clause normally (coordinator, no inversion). sowohl … als auch = both … and: Sie spricht sowohl Deutsch als auch Englisch. entweder … oder = either … or: Entweder kommst du jetzt, oder ich gehe allein. (After entweder in position 1 → inversion.) weder … noch = neither … nor: Er ist weder klug noch nett.
Position-1 mechanics in detail
German main clauses are V2: the verb is in position 2, no matter what's in position 1. When you put a connector in position 1, the subject moves AFTER the verb. Ich bin müde. Trotzdem komme ich. (Position 1: Trotzdem. Position 2: komme. Position 3+: ich.) Compare: Ich bin müde. Ich komme trotzdem. (Subject in 1, verb in 2, trotzdem mid-clause as a regular adverb — also fine, slightly less emphatic.) Both are correct; native speakers prefer the position-1 version when they want to highlight the contrast. With paired einerseits … andererseits, both go in position 1 → both clauses invert.
Punctuation
Connectors that join two main clauses get a comma OR a period in front. With period: Es regnet. Deshalb bleibe ich zu Hause. With comma: Es regnet, deshalb bleibe ich zu Hause. Both common. Coordinators und, oder, sondern without obligatory comma in modern rules; aber, denn usually with comma. Subordinators always with comma. Paired einerseits … andererseits are usually separated by a comma between the clauses.
Quick decision matrix
Want to express… (1) contrast between two main clauses → trotzdem / dennoch / jedoch / allerdings (position 1, V2). (2) contrast as a subordinate clause → obwohl / obgleich (verb-final). (3) cause as a subordinate clause → weil / da (verb-final). (4) consequence as a separate sentence → deshalb / deswegen / folglich / daher (position 1, V2). (5) addition → außerdem / zudem (position 1, V2) or just und. (6) balance → einerseits … andererseits or zwar … aber. The ability to switch between subordinate and adverbial constructions is what separates B1 from B2.
