Name what varies and what stays true
Was auch immer morgen passiert, wir bleiben erreichbar. The first clause opens a range of possible events; the second says that being reachable remains true across that range. You are not stating that one particular event actually happened. This is a generalizing concessive or irrelevance reading: the choice among those possibilities does not change the asserted result. In context, the range is usually the relevant possibilities, not every logically imaginable event.
Ordinary concession with obwohl, trotzdem and dennoch is a separate foundation. This reference adds open alternatives, degree-based concession and the fixed bridge wie dem auch sei. For the established basic contrast, use obwohl, trotzdem and dennoch.
A variable and an unchanged outcome
- Identity varies
Wer auch immer die Leitung übernimmt …
The relevant candidates are left open.
- Outcome holds
… wir unterstützen diese Person.
The support policy does not depend on the choice.
- Degree varies
So dringend die Anfrage auch ist …
Urgency is conceded across the relevant scale.
- Requirement holds
… wir brauchen eine schriftliche Freigabe.
The degree does not remove the requirement.
Choose the W-expression for the variable
| Variable | Original example | What varies? |
|---|---|---|
| wer | Wer auch immer die Leitung übernimmt, wir unterstützen diese Person. | identity of the new leader |
| was | Was auch immer passiert, wir bleiben erreichbar. | the event |
| wo | Wo du auch immer wohnst, wir schicken dir das Material digital. | location |
| wohin | Wohin du auch immer ziehst, wir bleiben in Kontakt. | destination |
| wann | Wann du auch immer ankommst, die Rezeption ist besetzt. | arrival time in the stated service arrangement |
| wie | Wie du auch immer anreist, wir treffen uns am Eingang. | means or manner |
The finite verb closes the W-clause: übernimmt, passiert, wohnst, ziehst, ankommst, anreist. Auch immer need not always stand directly after the W-word; the examples show both positions. Established variants with immer auch also occur. Learn a clear frame first rather than assuming the three words form an inseparable block in every sentence.
Let the W-word keep its role inside the clause
Wen du auch immer einlädst, die Raumgröße bleibt gleich. Wem du auch immer vertraust, wir brauchen einen schriftlichen Beleg. Wen is accusative because du lädst jemanden ein; wem is dative because du vertraust jemandem. The main clause does not erase that government. With a preposition, keep the whole phrase: Mit wem du auch sprichst, wir nennen keine privaten Daten. Do not replace every person-related W-form with wer merely because English uses whoever.
For an integrated free relative used as an argument, compatibility between its internal role and the outer sentence can be more restrictive. This guide does not license arbitrary case mismatches. Use a clear noun or resumptive pronoun when the roles compete: Wer die Aufgabe übernimmt, dem geben wir die Unterlagen. The added dem explicitly supplies the dative recipient in the outer clause.
Distinguish an independent frame from a subject clause
| Construction | Example | Following clause |
|---|---|---|
| Irrelevance frame | Wer auch immer gewinnt, wir gratulieren fair. | wir is the main clause’s own front field; gratulieren follows it. |
| Integrated free-relative subject | Wer auch immer gewinnt, bekommt den Preis. | The W-clause itself is the subject; bekommt follows the whole subject clause. |
| Explicit resumption | Wer auch immer gewinnt, der bekommt den Preis. | Der resumes the person in the following clause. |
The first pattern says that our response is independent of the winner’s identity. The second identifies the person who receives the prize. Both can be rendered with “whoever” in English, so translation alone does not predict the following word order. In the independent frames used here, keep a complete main clause after the comma. Do not mechanically apply the inversion pattern of an integrated subordinate clause to every W-opening.
Concede any relevant degree with so … auch
So dringend die Anfrage auch ist, wir brauchen eine schriftliche Freigabe. The urgency may be great, but it does not remove the need for written approval. So introduces the adjective degree; auch contributes to the concessive reading, and ist closes the clause. This is not the proportional je … desto pattern. The sentence does not say that urgency increases approval requirements; it says the requirement remains.
Wie sehr du dich auch beeilst, die Frist bleibt bestehen. So schwierig die Entscheidung auch sein mag, wir begründen sie schriftlich. Wie sehr opens a degree of effort; so schwierig a degree of difficulty. Sein mag can present a conceded possibility, but mögen or Konjunktiv is not obligatory in every generalizing concession: the indicative ist above is sufficient in its context. Do not add a second so in the main clause by analogy with a different comparison pattern.
Use wie dem auch sei to move the argument on
Über den Grund sind wir uns nicht einig. Wie dem auch sei, wir müssen jetzt einen Termin wählen. The fixed phrase brackets the unresolved issue and returns to a consequence or next step. It means roughly “be that as it may”, not necessarily agreement or permission. Learn dem and sei as part of this formula. A clause with es, such as wie es auch sei in an appropriate context, belongs to a different construction and is not automatically ungrammatical.
These forms can sound firm or dismissive when used to set aside another person’s concern. State what you acknowledge and why the consequence still holds. For an ordinary factual obstacle, an obwohl-clause may be simpler. Do not inflate every contrast into an open “whatever” claim. Related clause distinctions are in when, if and because.
Eight choices about scope and structure
1. Choose a W-word for an unknown destination: “___ du auch immer ziehst, wir bleiben in Kontakt.”
Wohin. Ziehen describes movement to a destination here; wo would ask for a location.
2. Complete the case: “___ du auch immer einlädst, wir haben genug Stühle.”
Wen. Einladen takes an accusative person-object.
3. Complete: “Mit ___ du auch sprichst, wir nennen keine privaten Daten.”
wem. Mit takes dative; keep the preposition in the W-phrase.
4. Explain the order: “Wer auch immer gewinnt, wir gratulieren fair.”
The first clause frames an irrelevant choice of winner; the following main clause has its own front field wir.
5. What is the subject in “Wer auch immer gewinnt, bekommt den Preis”?
The whole W-clause. Bekommt follows it because the free relative identifies the prize recipient.
6. Is “So dringend die Anfrage auch ist” a proportional comparison?
No. It concedes any relevant degree of urgency; it does not say “the more urgent, the more …”.
7. Must ist become sei in every so … auch clause?
No. Indicative can be appropriate; modal or subjunctive choices depend on the intended reading.
8. Does “Wie dem auch sei” mean the speaker agrees with the previous claim?
Not necessarily. It sets the issue aside to continue; agreement must be stated separately if needed.
Write a bounded policy, not an unlimited promise
Imagine a study group choosing a venue and facilitator. Write four German sentences: one with wer auch immer, one with wo or wohin, one with so … auch and one with wie dem auch sei. State the relevant range first, such as the three available venues, so your generalization is honest. Explain what changes and what remains constant. Finally turn one sentence into an integrated free-relative subject and check the new main-clause attachment.
Questions about this topic
Does every wer auch immer clause express concession?
No. It can be an integrated free relative naming a participant, as in Wer auch immer gewinnt, bekommt den Preis. Check its syntactic job and the intended relationship.
Is wie dem auch sei an agreement formula?
Not necessarily. It brackets an issue and moves to a next point, whether or not that issue has been settled.
Sources and further learning
- IDS grammis: Irrelevanzsätze
- IDS grammis: Gegenstandsfundierte W-Sätze
- LEO dictionary: wie dem auch sei
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