ob

Whether: Ob

Level 2

Ob means whether or if: Ech weess net, ob hie kënnt (I don't know whether he is coming).

How It Works

From a direct to an indirect question

  • Direct: Kënnt hien? (Is he coming?) – see yes/no questions
  • Indirect: Ech weess net, ob hie kënnt.

The verb moves from the front to the end, and ob starts the clause.

Typical openers
Ech weess net, ob ..., Weess du, ob ...?, Fro hien, ob ..., Si freet, ob ...

Ob or wann?
Both can be if in English. Ob asks whether something is true; wann sets a condition: Ech weess net, ob ech kommen (whether) but Wann ech kommen, bréngen ech Kuch mat (on the condition that).

Question words
For other indirect questions, use the question word instead of ob: Ech weess net, wéini den Zuch kënnt. See indirect questions.

With du and modal verbs
An s is added before du or de: ob s du Zäit hues (see wann s de). A modal usually comes before the infinitive: ob ech muer ka kommen.

Examples (6)

  1. Ech weess net, ob hie kënnt.

    I don't know whether he is coming.

    Word by Word: I know not, whether he comes.

    Hien becomes hie before the k of kënnt.

  2. Fro hien, ob hien Zäit huet.

    Ask him if he has time.

    Word by Word: Ask him, whether he time has.

    Hien keeps its n before the Z of Zäit.

  3. Weess du, ob de Buttek haut op ass?

    Do you know if the shop is open today?

    Word by Word: Know you, whether the shop today open is?

    The main clause is a question, so the sentence ends with a question mark.

  4. Si freet, ob mir matkommen.

    She is asking whether we are coming along.

    Word by Word: She asks, whether we along-come.

    At the end of the ob clause, the separable verb matkommen is one word.

  5. Ech weess net, ob ech muer ka kommen.

    I don't know if I can come tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I know not, whether I tomorrow can come.

    The modal ka comes before the infinitive. Kann becomes ka before k.

  6. Ech weess net, ob s du Zäit hues.

    I don't know whether you have time.

    Word by Word: I know not, whether s you time have.

    An s is added between ob and du.

Common Mistakes

  • Using wann for whether.

    Ech weess net, wann hie kënnt.
    Ech weess net, ob hie kënnt.

    The intended meaning is I don't know whether he is coming. Wann expresses a condition or a time, so for whether use ob.

  • Keeping direct-question order inside the sentence.

    Ech weess net, kënnt hien?
    Ech weess net, ob hie kënnt.

    An indirect yes or no question needs ob, and its verb goes to the end.

  • Putting the verb before the other parts of the ob clause.

    Weess du, ob de Buttek ass haut op?
    Weess du, ob de Buttek haut op ass?

    In an ob clause the conjugated verb comes last, after haut op.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

obLevel 2Whether: Ob

Learn This First

Before Whether: Ob, learn The Verb at the End of Subordinate Clauses and Yes or No Questions.

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Words in This Pattern

ob