All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| seit | since; for a continuing duration | a starting point, duration or clause | preposition + dative; conjunction |
| seitdem | since; since then | a beginning event or previous reference time | verb-final conjunction or adverb |
seit
Meaning and usage: Use seit with a starting point or elapsed duration that reaches the relevant present: since Monday or for three weeks. It can also introduce a clause describing when a continuing situation began. A continuing present situation commonly uses German present tense, even where English uses a present perfect. Other temporal contexts can use past tenses; do not turn that tendency into an always-present rule.
Grammar: As a preposition, seit takes dative: seit einem Monat, seit dem Umzug. As a conjunction it introduces a clause with the finite verb at the end: seit ich hier wohne. Separate that clause with a comma. The temporal word ends in t; ihr seid is a different word, the verb sein.
Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch.
I have been learning German for a year.
Seit ich hier wohne, fahre ich öfter Rad.
Since I have lived here, I have cycled more often.
seitdem
Meaning and usage: Use seitdem before a clause to identify the beginning of a time interval. As an adverb meaning since then, it points back to a starting event already known from the context. The adverb does not need a new following clause, and it does not directly take a noun naming the starting time.
Grammar: Conjunction: seitdem ich hier wohne, with a final finite verb. Adverb: Seitdem fahre ich öfter Rad, with the main-clause verb in second position. Write the single word seitdem in these uses. Seit dem with a space is the preposition plus a dative article before a noun.
Seitdem ich den neuen Kurs besuche, spreche ich häufiger Deutsch.
Since I have been attending the new course, I have spoken German more often.
Im Mai bin ich umgezogen. Seitdem wohne ich näher am Bahnhof.
I moved in May. Since then, I have lived closer to the station.
Overlap and context
Seit and seitdem are generally interchangeable as temporal conjunctions: seit/seitdem ich hier wohne. They are not interchangeable before a bare noun phrase: seit einem Jahr is correct, but seitdem einem Jahr is not this construction. Seit dem Umzug and seitdem ich umgezogen bin express a similar starting point with different grammar. The connector does not by itself mean because, even if the circumstances also suggest a cause.
Common mistakes
- Write seit dem Kurs for the preposition plus article; write seitdem for the conjunction or since-then adverb.
- After adverbial Seitdem, keep the main-clause verb second: Seitdem lerne ich täglich.
- For a continuing current habit, Ich lerne seit einem Jahr is natural; do not mechanically copy the English perfect tense.
- Do not confuse temporal seit with ihr seid.
Memory aid: Since + noun: seit. Since + clause: seit or seitdem. Since then: seitdem. Check whether a following dem belongs to a noun before deciding the spelling.
Try it
Make a main clause meaning Since then I have lived here: Seitdem / ich / hier / wohne.
Show the answer
Seitdem wohne ich hier.
Seitdem is an adverb in this sentence, so the finite verb wohne stays in second position. A seitdem conjunction would introduce a subordinate clause instead.