Concessive Clauses: obwohl, trotzdem, zwar...aber
மாறுபாடு காட்டும் வாக்கியங்கள்
B1 gave you obwohl for 'although'; B2 adds two more ways to signal a contrast — trotzdem as a stand-alone connector, and the zwar...aber pair that flags a concession before you even reach it.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Three tools for one job — subordinate, connector, and a paired warning
Obwohl es regnet, gehe ich raus. / Es regnet. Trotzdem gehe ich raus. / Es regnet zwar, aber ich gehe raus.
மழை பெய்தாலும், நான் வெளியே போகிறேன். (-ஆலும் suffix marks the concession, doing the job of all three German options)
Tamil's -ஆலும் suffix ('even though/even if') does the job of all three German options at once, just by attaching to the verb. German instead offers three distinct tools depending on sentence shape: obwohl starts a subordinate clause (verb-final, like weil), trotzdem starts a new main clause as a connector (verb-second immediately after it), and zwar...aber flags the concession early with zwar, then delivers the contrast with aber. All three translate roughly to Tamil's single -ஆலும் — the choice between them in German is about sentence structure, not meaning.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| German | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| obwohl | op-VOHL | ...ஆலும்...ālum | although (subordinate clause) |
| trotzdem | TROTS-daym | அப்படியிருந்தும்appadiyirundhum | nevertheless / still |
| zwar ... aber | tsvahr ... AH-ber | உண்மைதான் ... ஆனால்uṇmaidhāṉ ... āṉāl | it's true that... but |
| Obwohl ich müde war, ... | op-VOHL ikh MUE-deh vahr | நான் களைப்பாக இருந்தாலும்...nān kaḷaippāga irundhālum... | Although I was tired, ... |
| dennoch | DEN-nokh | இருந்தும்irundhum | nonetheless / yet |