How to describe how something was done in German?

To express how something is done in German, you can use an adverb of manner like langsam (meaning slowly), use a prepositional phrase of manner, like mit einem Hammer (meaning with a hammer), or you can use a use modal clause, illustrated by the examples below: They are a type of subordinate clause that provides more information on how something was done or in what way.

In this article we’ll take a closer look first at modal clauses (as these are the trickiest) and then at the wide variety of prepositions you can use to describe how something was done. Let’s dive in!

In German, a modal clause (or “manner clause”) is a type of subordinate clause that answers questions like wie (meaning how) or auf welche Art und Weise (meaning in what way). Like other subordinate clauses, all modal clauses contain a verb, and they are introduced by a subordinating conjunction.

The conjunctions that introduce modal clauses are called conjunctions of manner. Like most other subordinating conjunctions in German, conjunctions of manner are “verb-kickers,” meaning that the verb in a clause that starts with these words will be “kicked” to the end of the clause.

Here are the most common conjunctions used to form a modal clause in German:

• indem + subordinate clause:

  We usually translate this using a “by + verbing” construction in English, but in German this conjunction is followed by a tensed verb.

  conjunction of mannertensed verb

  Der Bäcker macht den Teig geschmeidig, indem er warme Milch zum Mehl hinzufügt.

  Translation: The baker makes the dough smooth by adding warm milk to the flour.

  Literally: lit. The baker makes dough by he adds warm milk to the flour.

• dadurch + result + dass + subordinate clause:

  We use this to explain how a result came into being. Dadurch comes before the result that was achieved, while dass introduces the manner in which that result was achieved. For example:

  dadurch...dassresulttensed verb

  Der Bäcker macht den Teig dadurch geschmeidig, dass er warme Milch zum Mehl hinzufügt.

  Translation: The baker makes the dough smooth by adding warm milk to the flour.

  Literally: lit. The baker makes the dough thus smooth that he adds warm milk to the flour.

  These are again often translated into English using the “by + verbing” construction, even though in German the verb is a conjugated verb.

  You can also use the word order below, which allows the “result” to be separated from dadurch.

  dadurch...dassresulttensed verb

  Dadurch, dass der Bäcker warme Milch zum Mehl hinzufügt, macht er den Teig geschmeidig.

  Translation: By the baker adding warm milk to the flour, he makes the dough smooth.

  Literally: lit. Thus that the baker adds warm milk to the flour, he makes the dough smooth.

In German, prepositions of manner are also used to explain how something is done. We use these to form phrases that are more directly parallel to English manner phrases like “by adding,” “with a hammer” or “through trickery.”

In a sentence, these prepositional phrases of manner can either be in first position or in the middle position of a sentence, right after the verb.

Prepositions of manner, like other German prepositions, are used exclusively to introduce nouns or noun phrases. You will, however, often use them before nouns that come from verbs, also known as nominalized verbs. Compare these verbs to the nouns that come from them.

• backen (meaning to bake) → das Backen (meaning the baking)

• rühren (meaning to stir) → das Rühren (meaning the stirring)

Notice that the words on the right are used with articles and are capitalized like nouns. Therefore, they can be used after prepositions!

In German, there are a number of different ways to say that you did something “without” doing something else or “without” the use of a tool. These are also manner descriptions, as they still answer the question “how?” just in a slightly different way!

• ohne… zu :

  The conjunction ohne is used before an infinitive clause with zu to achieve a meaning a lot like the English structure “without verbing.”

  conjunctioninfinitive with zu

  Er holte das Brot aus dem Ofen, ohne einen Topflappen zu benutzen.

  Translation: He took the bread out of the oven without using an oven mitt.

  Notice that the verb comes at the end of the infinitive clause, and is introduced by zu!

  This is the most common way to say “without” + action in German.

• ohne + accusative:

  The word ohne can also be used as a preposition that take the accusative case. Usually its object will be a nominalized verb, like das Benutzen (meaning the using).

  prepositionaccusative case

  Er holte das Brot aus dem Ofen, ohne das Benutzen eines Topflappens.

  Translation: He took the bread out of the oven without using an oven mitt.

• ohne dass…

  You can also use ohne in combination with dass to introduce a complete, tensed subordinate clause.

  prepositiontensed verb

  Er holte das Brot aus dem Ofen, ohne dass er einen Topflappen benutzte.

  Translation: He took the bread out of the oven without using an oven mitt.

  Literally: lit. He took the bread out of the oven without that he used an oven mitt.

• mangels + genitive

  The word mangels is a preposition meaning “for the lack of” or “due to a lack of” and is used before the genitive case. You’ll usually find mangels in the first position of a sentence.

  prepositiongenitive case

  Mangels Zeit konnte der Bäcker keinen Kuchen backen.

  Translation: For lack of time, the baker wasn’t able to bake any cake.

  Mangels is normally used to introduce a fundamental requirement, like an asset, time, or a characteristic that is required to accomplish something else.

There are three main ways to say that you did something “instead of” something else in German:

• (an)statt… zu:

  You can use (an)statt before an infinitive clause with zu as an equivalent to the English construction “instead of verbing.” This is the most common way to say “instead of” in German.

  conjunctioninfinitive with zu

  Der Bäcker knetete den Teig mit der Hand (an)statt eine Maschine zu benutzen.

  Translation: The baker kneaded the dough by hand instead of using a machine.

  Remember, the subject of an infinitive clause is always understood from context.

• anstatt dass…:

  You can also say “instead of” by using anstatt (not statt!) before the conjunction dass. This is then followed by a complete subordinate clause, with a tensed verb.

  prepositiontensed verb

  Der Bäcker knetete den Teig mit der Hand, anstatt dass er eine Maschine benutzte.

  Translation: The baker kneaded the dough by hand instead of using a machine.

  Literally: lit. The baker kneaded the dough by hand instead of that he used a machine.

  Remember, you can’t say statt dass!

• (an)statt+ genitive:

  prepositiongenitive

  Der Bäcker knetete den Teig mit der Hand (an)statt des Benutzens einer Maschine.

  Translation: The baker kneaded the dough by hand instead of using a machine.

  Literally: lit. The baker kneaded the dough by hand instead of the use of a machine.

In this post we talked about a few different ways you can describe “how” or “in what manner” something happened:

• Use an adverb of manner.

• Use a modal clause (or “manner clause”) that means “by verbing.” These have the structures below:

  • indem + subordinate clause

  • dadurch + result + dass + subordinate clause

• Use a preposition of manner before a noun or nominalized verb:

  • durch (meaning with, by) + accusative

  • unter (meaning by) + dative

  • mit (meaning with) + dative

  • mittels (meaning through, by) + genitive

• Use a phrase meaning “without verbing.” These have three possible structures:

  • ohne + infinitive clause with zu

  • ohne + accusative

  • ohne dass + subordinate clause

• Use a phrase meaning “instead of verbing.” These have these possible structures:

  • (an)statt + infinitive clause with zu

  • anstatt dass + subordinate clause

  • (an)statt + genitive

And now, let’s practice and solidify our knowledge! Head on over to our German prepositions and conjunctions of manner exercises!