und, aber, oder: Building Longer Sentences
A1Three little words that connect your short sentences into real German — without touching the word order.
Position zero: the free connector slot
und, aber and oder sit in a slot BEFORE position one — grammarians call it position zero. That means the verb stays exactly where it always is: position two. 'Ich komme aus Spanien, aber ich wohne in Deutschland.' The connector never pushes the verb around — which is exactly why these three are the safe way to build longer sentences at A1.
| Sentence | Verb position |
|---|---|
| Ich koche und ich höre Musik. | koche = 2 |
| Ich lerne Deutsch, aber mein Bruder lernt Spanisch. | lerne = 2 |
| Trinkst du Kaffee oder trinkst du Tee? | Trinkst = 1 (question) |
Beispiele — examples in context
Ich wohne in Hamburg und ich arbeite in Hamburg.
I live in Hamburg and I work in Hamburg.
One job each
'und' adds more of the same. 'oder' offers a choice — in questions it stands between the options: 'Trinkst du Kaffee oder Tee?' 'aber' is the contrast word, the slight surprise: 'Das Essen ist billig, aber es ist sehr gut.' If you can feel the 'however' in your sentence, you want aber.
Beispiele — examples in context
Das Hotel ist klein, aber die Zimmer sind toll.
The hotel is small, but the rooms are great.
Am Samstag spielen wir Fußball oder wir gehen schwimmen.
On Saturday we'll play football or we'll go swimming.
Pro tip: oder? — the one-word tag question
Germans end a sentence with a floating 'oder?' to mean '...right?': 'Du kommst morgen, oder?' It's the casual way to confirm a plan, and it lets you turn any statement into a question without moving a single word. (English 'or what?' energy, zero grammar cost.)
Beispiele — examples in context
Der Kurs beginnt am Montag, oder?
The course starts on Monday, right?