dass. What someone thinks, says, or feels.
dass means "that." It introduces what someone thinks, says, believes, or feels. And just like weil, the moment it appears, the verb in the clause that follows moves to the very end.
What dass introduces
dass always comes after verbs that express a thought, a statement, a feeling, or a belief. The main clause contains the person and the verb of thinking or saying. The dass clause contains what is being thought or said.
| Verb type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Thinking | denken, glauben, meinen, finden |
| Knowing | wissen, verstehen, merken |
| Saying | sagen, erklären, erzählen |
| Feeling / hoping | hoffen, fühlen, freuen, fürchten |
The verb goes to the end
dass follows the same rule as weil: the verb leaves position two and moves to the last slot in the clause. The rest of the clause stays in the same order, subject first, everything else in the middle, verb last.
| Main clause | dass | Subject | Middle | Verb (last) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ich denke, | dass | er | kommt. | |
| Sie sagt, | dass | das | schwer ist. | |
| Wir wissen, | dass | du | Rechthast. | |
| Er hofft, | dass | sie | morgen | kommt. |
| Ich finde, | dass | Deutsch | viel Sinn | ergibt. |
The same verb-last rule in detail: weil. The verb goes last.
With modal verbs: infinitive first, modal last
When a modal verb appears in the dass clause, the pattern is exactly the same as with weil. The infinitive arrives first, the modal verb closes the clause.
| Main clause | dass | Subject | Middle | Infinitive | Modal (last) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ich weiß, | dass | er | heute | arbeiten | muss. |
| Sie denkt, | dass | ich | kommen | kann. | |
| Wir hoffen, | dass | du | länger | bleiben | kannst. |
| Er sagt, | dass | wir | das | lernen | müssen. |
Dropping dass changes the word order
English often leaves "that" out: "I think he's coming" and "I think that he's coming" are both fine. German can do the same, but dropping dass costs you the verb-last rule. Without it, the clause is no longer a subordinate clause at all, and the verb goes back to position two, exactly as in a normal sentence.
Ich denke, dass er kommt.
with dass, the verb goes last.
Ich denke, er kommt.
without dass, the verb is back in position two.
The comma is not optional
Just like with weil and denn, a comma always appears before dass. No exceptions.
dass vs. weil: the quick check
Both send the verb to the end. The difference is what they introduce. Ask yourself: is the clause explaining a reason, or reporting what someone thinks or says?
| Conjunction | Introduces | Ask yourself |
|---|---|---|
| weil | a reason | Why did it happen? |
| dass | a thought, statement, or feeling | What does someone think / say / feel? |
Both weil and dass: verb goes last. Modal verb in the clause? Infinitive first, modal last. Comma before both. Every time.