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I plan to buy a new phone
My son learns to fly a plane
We want to travel to Germany
They can work all day
It's good to want to do sport
Is it normal to be able to hear voices
She intentionally forgets to bring her books
I promised you not to call her again
I packed my things in order to move to my new house
I left the job in order to get a better one
She arrived, without calling me first
We have the best grades, without reading or writing at all
I read books instead of playing video games
She works overtime instead of going home
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Ich habe vor,
Mein Sohn lernt, |
ein neues Telefon zu kaufen
ein Flugzeug zu fliegen |
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Wir wollen
Sie können |
nach Deutschland reisen
den ganzen Tag arbeiten |
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Es ist gut,
Ist es normal, |
Sport machen zu wollen
Stimmen hören zu können? |
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Sie vergisst absichtlich,
Ich habe dir versprochen, |
ihre Bücher mitzubringen
sie nicht noch einmal anzurufen |
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Ich packte meine Sachen,
Ich habe den Job verlassen, |
um in mein neues Haus zu ziehen
um einen besseren zu bekommen |
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| Ohne | Sie kam an,
Wir haben die besten Noten, |
ohne mich vorher anzurufen
ohne zu lesen oder zu schreiben |
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| Anstatt | Ich lese Bücher,
Sie macht Überstunden, |
anstatt Videospiele zu spielen
anstatt nach Hause zu gehen |
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Infinitive Clause | Translation | |||||||||||||||
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➔These words are often used in infinitive structures with “zu”
➔Um, ohne, anstatt express causality or conditions and create infinitive clauses
| Main clause |
Infinitive Clause | Translation | ||||||||||||
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It’s my goal to visit Spain |
➔The infinitive clause may function as a subject, in this case it stays in the first position
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Infinitive Clause | Translation | |||||||||
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He forgets to call me |
➔ Separable verbs in infinitive structures with “zu” aren’t separable anymore
➔ “zu” will be attached to the verb after the prefix
| Main clause | Infinitive Clause + Modals | Translation | ||||||
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It's wonderful to be able to dance so much |
➔ Generally, the modals form infinitive structures without “zu”
Ich möchte Deutsch lernen I want to learn German
➔ Occasionally, when the modals are used in infinitive structures with zu, they will be placed at the end the sentence, after zu:
We always put a comma between the clauses, when the infinitive clause is in the second place. In the first position, the infinitive clause is a subject, so there’s no need to have a comma
Mrs. Puddles
Have you noticed?
| Main clause | Infinitive Clause | Translation | |||
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She plans to leave the house. |
Cats are lovely and may prove to be a good company for you while learning or struggling with German.
Here's the perfect place for animal lovers and German learners!
2020, L2D
Mr. Puddle: Instead of using “zu”: “ Ich finde es wunderbar, dass sie so viel tanzen kann” saying “I think it's wonderful that she can dance so much” expressing our admiration when we see our friend dancing all night long without getting tired. See? You need to be flexible!
Miss Purrplexed: Danke!
Miss Purrplexed: Sure! “It's wonderful to be able to dance so much”, I guess… I would say when I see my friend Mr. Kitty Hawk at the parties! He never sits down! It's crazy how much he can dance!
Take your chance and try to guess what these sentences mean ! Even more, guess the word's case!
Mrs. Purrplexed wants to play!
➔We have a main clause (where is the subject) and the infinitive clause with “zu”
➔The subject is the same in both clauses
➔The verb is at the infinitive form (-en) when used with “zu”
Mr. Puddle: Modal verbs don’t need “zu” in infinitive, but people sometimes use modals with “zu” for expressing different opinions or views. Let’s simplify: use modals without zu in the spoken language! Let’s take an example we previously showed: “Es ist wunderbar, so viel tanzen zu können” Can you translate it and give me a context when you would say this?
Mr. Puddle: We don't use “zu” in this sentence. We say directly “Ich will Deutsch lernen”
Miss Purrplexed: Why? I’m really confused when to use zu or not with modals!
Miss Purrplexed: Ich will Deutsch zu lernen!
*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !
Do you remember the clause? It’s a way of classifying the sentences according to their function: main clauses, dependent clauses, infinitive clauses
Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!
✔️ Practical examples. Follow the structure to understand better how it works!
✔️ The infinitive structures have one subject, you'll expect to have "zu+ second verb at infinitive - en at the end of the sentence
✔️Don’t forget about the comma, which is essential when the infinitive clause is in the second position
✔️Um, ohne, anstatt express causality or conditions and create infinitive clauses
✔️Modals generally aren’t used in infinitive structures with “zu”, but sometimes you can find them in such structures
✔️Separable verbs aren’t separable in infinitive structure: the prefix is attached to zu and the verb: anzurufen, wegzulaufen, mitzunehmen
✔️ We often use the infinitive “to” in English “I want to…” “She needs to…” “in order to”, actually there are many languages using this particle. The base form of the verb in infinitive is very common within the germanic languages: the -en infinitive ending is the same in Dutch and German!
✔️The good news? German uses “zu” for infinitives, so you have one word to learn!
✔️The bad news? There are some rules and structures you have to learn to get the hang of it!
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