bald
soon
In a short time; in the near future.
EXAMPLE
Keine Sorge, der Bus kommt bald.
Don't worry, the bus will come soon.
bald
soon / almost
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Meanings
bald
almost
Nearly, almost, approximately.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe bald mein ganzes Geld für diesen Monat ausgegeben.
I have almost spent all my money for this month.
bald ... bald
now ... now
Used to describe a rapid change between two states or actions.
EXAMPLE
Ihre Laune wechselte ständig: bald war sie fröhlich, bald wieder traurig.
Her mood kept changing: now she was cheerful, now sad again.
Usage tips
Position in the sentence
As a time adverb, 'bald' (soon) can stand in different positions in the sentence. If it stands at the beginning (position 1), the verb follows directly after it.
EXAMPLE
Bald fängt der Film an.
The film will start soon.
Recognizing the meaning
The meaning of 'bald' depends on the context. If it refers to time, it means 'in Kürze' (soon/shortly). If it refers to an amount or a state, it means 'fast' (almost) or 'beinahe' (nearly).
EXAMPLE
Wir sind bald da.
We'll be there soon.
Fixed expressions
'Bald' is part of several fixed and useful expressions. 'Bis bald!' (See you soon!) is a common farewell, and 'so bald wie möglich' (as soon as possible) means that something is urgent.
EXAMPLE
Bitte schicken Sie mir die Unterlagen so bald wie möglich zu.
Please send me the documents as soon as possible.
Double use
The structure 'bald ..., bald ...' describes a rapid change between two different actions or states. It connects two main clauses or sentence parts.
EXAMPLE
Das Wetter war unbeständig: bald schien die Sonne, bald regnete es.
The weather was changeable: now the sun was shining, now it was raining.
Compare with
bald vs mal
once / times
Mal and bald can describe a change using the forms mal ... mal and bald ... bald. Mal ... mal refers to alternating occurrences, while bald ... bald particularly emphasizes a rapid change between states. Use bald ... bald when the rapid change is important.
bald
Das Wetter ist bald sonnig, bald regnerisch.
The weather is now sunny, now rainy.
mal
Das Wetter ist mal sonnig, mal regnerisch.
The weather is sometimes sunny and sometimes rainy.
In real life
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