Students often struggle when forming sentences with “trotz” and “trotzdem”. In this article, learn when and how to use these two words in a German sentence. 

The meaning of "trotzdem" and "trotz"

The conjunctive adverb “trotzdem” means “nevertheless,” and we can translate the German preposition “trotz” with  “despite” in English. 

As you can already see, they have different meanings and are two different kinds of words: prepositions and adverbs. Therefore, you must use them differently, which we will discuss in the following. 

Recommended study materials on the topic:

1. B-Grammar: Practice German grammar (incl. answers)

2. German self-study book for A1-B1  (incl. answers)

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Forming sentences with "trotzdem"

1. Position 

When forming sentences with “trotzdem” you have, you can choose whether you want it at the beginning of the sentence or behind the verb. However, since “trotzdem” is an adverb, it must be close to your verb.

• Es regnet. Trotzdem gehe ich joggen. 

• Es regnet. Ich gehe trotzdem joggen.  

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2. Connecting two sentences

If you wish, you can also connect to sentences:

• Es regnet, trotzdem gehe ich joggen.  

• Ich bin müde, trotzdem feiere ich eine Party mit meinen Freunden. 

• Ich habe keine Lust, trotzdem mache ich meine Deutschhausaufgaben. 

3. Comma

You always need to put a comma before using “trotzdem” if you decide to connect two sentences. Memorizing this rule is an easy mistake to avoid in tests. 

Forming sentences with "trotz"

The preposition “trotz” is always followed by the Genitiv case. Your life will be easier if you memorize this rule because then you’ll never have to think about the case that follows “trotz” anymore and can focus on properly combining all words in your sentence. Also, the position of “trotz” really depends on which part of the sentence you want to emphasize.

 For example:

• Ich war trotz des schlechten Wetters joggen. (I went jogging despite the bad weather.)

• Trotz des schlechten Wetters war ich joggen.

• Ich war joggen trotz des schlechten Wetters. 

Getting things in order

I hope this article clarified when and how to use “trotzdem” and “trotz” in German sentences. You should also check out how to use “obwohl” in a German sentence.

Bis bald!

Steffie

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