denn and weil

In the lesson the renting of an apartment “denn” is used as "because" as well as “that”

In the lesson on subordinate clauses “weil ” is explained as "because.

Can weil and denn be used interchangeable

Thanks

Maxie

Hi Maxie

As far as I know, weil is the most commonly word for ‘because’ and it is subordinating.

Da can be a drop in replacement for weil as it is also subordinating.

Denn, on the other hand, is not subordinating so the structure of the phrase has to be different, the verb is not kicked to the end as you can see in the example you gave.

So I think denn and da are optional replacements for weil according to taste?

However weil and da can start a sentence, but I don’t think you would do that with denn. It's a bit confusing in your example as the full sentence is split in two.

Nein, das ist zu teuer,

denn sie kommen mit ihren drei Kindern.

It would be interesting to hear from the tutor about this.

Hallo zusammen! 

You're on the right track! Weil is a subordinating conjunction which sends the conjugated verb to the end of the clause, e.g.

“Ich gehe jetzt einkaufen, weil der Kühlschrank ist leer ist.” - “I'm going grocery shopping because the fridge is empty.”

“Weil der Kühlschrank leer ist, gehe ich jetzt einkaufen.” -"Because the fridge is emty I'm going grocery shopping."

Denn, on the other hand, is a coordinating conjunction. That means it connects phrases or clauses without affecting the word order (unlike weil as it sends the conjugated verb to the end of the clause). Denn cannot be placed at the start of the sentence because it needs to come after the part that it ties to. 

“Ich gehe jetzt einkaufen, denn der Kühlschrank ist leer.” “- I'm going grocery shopping because the fridge is empty.”

Denn is also much more formal and is usually used more in writing. 

Hope this helps!

Julia

Thank you Julia, I didn't know that denn is more formal than weil. An added source of confusion in the course is that denn appears many times as a modal particle.

Thank you Julia and Simon

I will keep that in mind and understand the concept. As for the grammar terminology in English or German is just beyond me. Will just cobble along as now I do understand the difference.

For me to be able to make myself understood is paramount, in other words I do not aspire to become a translator.

I am unlikely to ever live in Germany or Europe and will not to get to use any of the languages I am learning on a daily basis. That said I love learning languages and I love the aha moments when I get something. As I have said my Portuguese is not always grammatically correct, but I am able to have even complicated conversations. 

I was doing a less on on Tatort this week and came across the word heutzutage, which I had learnt on Seedlang. Was a great moment to be able to recognize the word and understand it. I love those connections and it makes me happy and I then realize I am making progress.

Have a lovely day

Maxie