dass-clauses

A dass-clause is a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction dass (that). It acts as the object of the main clause — reporting what someone says, thinks, knows, or feels. The main clause and the dass-clause are always separated by a comma, and the finite verb of the dass-clause moves to the very end of that clause.

Use a dass-clause as the complement of the main verb in the following situations:

• Verbs of saying: sagen, erzählen, antworten — e.g. Sie sagt, dass …

• Verbs of thinking / believing: glauben, denken, meinen — e.g. Ich glaube, dass …

• Verbs of knowing / understanding: wissen, verstehen — e.g. Er weiß, dass …

• Verbs of feeling / hoping: hoffen, fühlen — e.g. Wir hoffen, dass …

The structure is always: main clause + comma + dass + subject + … + finite verb. The finite verb is sent to the final position — this is called verb-final order.

• Keeping verb-second order inside the dass-clause.

  In a normal main clause the verb is in second position. Inside a dass-clause it must go to the end. ✗ Ich glaube, dass er kommt heute. → ✓ Ich glaube, dass er heute kommt.

• Writing das instead of dass.

  The conjunction is always dass (double-s). das is a definite article or demonstrative pronoun — a different word entirely. A quick test: if you can replace the word with «welches», it is the article/pronoun; if not, it is the conjunction and needs double-s.

• Omitting the comma before dass.

  German punctuation requires a comma before every subordinating conjunction, including dass. Unlike English, this is not optional. ✗ Sie sagt dass sie keine Zeit hat. → ✓ Sie sagt, dass sie keine Zeit hat.