At B2 and beyond, the difference between choppy and elegant German is mostly connectors. The tricky part is that each type does something different to word order — that's what to master here.
| Type | Connector | Effect on word order |
|---|---|---|
| Subordinating | obwohl, sodass, indem | verb to the end of its clause |
| Adverbial | trotzdem, deshalb, dennoch | verb second (connector fills slot 1) |
| Two-part | je … desto / umso | special: je-clause verb-final, desto-clause verb after |
Obwohl es regnete, gingen wir spazieren.
Although it was raining, we went for a walk.
obwohl → regnete at the end
Es regnete. Trotzdem gingen wir spazieren.
It was raining. We went for a walk anyway.
trotzdem → verb gingen second
Je mehr ich übe, desto besser werde ich.
The more I practise, the better I get.
je + comparative … desto + comparative + verb
Don't confuse the concession pair
obwohl and trotzdem both mean roughly “although / nevertheless,” but obwohl introduces a subordinate clause (verb last) while trotzdem is an adverb (verb second). They are not interchangeable.
✗Trotzdem es kalt war, schwammen wir.
✓Obwohl es kalt war, schwammen wir.
To open a subordinate clause you need obwohl, not trotzdem.
✗Je mehr Geld, desto man ist glücklicher.
✓Je mehr Geld, desto glücklicher ist man.
In the desto-clause the comparative comes first, then the verb.