2.17 Infinitive clauses with zu — and the verbs that take none — Epoché
What you will be able to do Build infinitive clauses with zu , with the infinitive at the end: Ich versuche, dir zu helfen. Put zu inside a separable verb: anzurufen, aufzustehen . Use um … zu for purpose, ohne … zu for without doing , and statt … zu for instead of doing . Recognise the verbs that take a bare infinitive with no zu : the modals, lassen , sehen , hören , gehen , bleiben . Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Ich gehe lieber zu Fuß, als im Bus zu bleiben. [1] I'd rather walk than stay on the bus. Ich habe keine Lust fernzusehen. [2] I don't feel like watching TV. Ich würde lieber sterben, als jeden Morgen früh aufzustehen. [3] I would sooner die than get up early every morning. Ich versuche nicht, Gewicht zu verlieren. [4] I'm not trying to lose weight. Ich hatte einfach keine Lust aufzustehen. [5] I just didn't feel like getting up. Wir beschlossen, drinnen zu bleiben, denn es regnete. [6] We decided to stay inside because it was raining. Ich versuche, so viel Geld zu sparen, wie ich kann. [7] I'm trying to save as much money as I can. Sie hörte stundenlang Musik. [8] She listened to music for hours. Prerequisites : 2.16 — you need the sentence bracket and verb-final order from 2.2 Grammar and 2.12 Grammar , separable verbs from 2.8 Grammar , and the modals from 3.4 Verbs . English uses to with an infinitive constantly: I'm trying to help , it's hard to find work , I came to see her . German has an exact counterpart in zu with the infinitive, and uses it in most of the same places. The differences are in the word order — the infinitive goes to the end of its clause — and in a few English patterns with -ing that German expresses with an infinitive instead. The patterns Pattern Meaning Example verb or adjective + zu + infinitive to do Ich versuche, dir zu helfen. um … zu + infinitive in order to Ich kam, um sie zu sehen. ohne … zu + infinitive without doing Sie ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden. statt … zu + infinitive instead of doing statt drinnen zu bleiben verb + bare infinitive, no zu modals and a few others Ich hörte sie singen. Three rules govern the form. The infinitive goes last, and everything that belongs to it — objects, adverbs — comes before it: dir zu helfen , das zu tun . With a separable verb, zu goes between the prefix and the stem, and the whole is written as one word: an-zu-rufen gives anzurufen . A comma before the infinitive clause is compulsory when it begins with um, ohne, statt, anstatt, außer or als ; with a plain zu clause it is often optional. In real sentences After verbs. Many verbs take an infinitive clause: versuchen try , vergessen forget , versprechen promise , vorhaben plan , beschließen decide , hoffen hope . German English Ich versuche, dir zu helfen. [9] I'm trying to help you. Ich versuche, dich aufzuheitern. [10] I'm trying to cheer you up. Vergiss nicht anzurufen! [11] Don't forget to call. Er versprach, ihn anzurufen. [12] He promised to phone him. The second, third and fourth show zu inside a separable verb: aufzuheitern , anzurufen . After nouns and adjectives. Es ist schwer, … , Es ist wichtig, … , Ich habe keine Zeit, … , Hast du Lust, …? German English Es ist schwer, sie zu sehen. [13] It is difficult to see her. Es ist wichtig, das zu wissen. [14] Knowing this is important. Ich habe keine Zeit, das zu tun. [15] I have no time to do that. Hast du Lust, etwas zu essen? [16] Do you feel like eating something? um … zu : purpose. German English Ich kam, um sie zu sehen. [17] I came to see her. ohne … zu and statt … zu . German English Du redest, ohne etwas zu sagen. [18] You're talking without saying anything. Sie ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden. [19] She left without saying goodbye. Ich möchte lieber zu Hause bleiben, statt ins Kino zu gehen. [20] I would rather stay at home than go to the movies. No zu . Besides the modals and lassen , verbs of perception, some verbs of movement such as gehen , and bleiben take a bare infinitive. German English Ich hörte sie singen. [21] I heard her singing. Er blieb stundenlang dort sitzen. [22] He stayed sitting there for hours. In Hast du Lust, schwimmen zu gehen? you can see both: schwimmen has no zu because it depends on gehen , and gehen has zu because it depends on Lust . How English does it zu is to . The two words are the same, and they do the same job before an infinitive. Where English says it's important to know that , German says es ist wichtig, das zu wissen . The difference is only the order: English keeps to and the verb together at the start of the phrase, German puts them at the end. English to for purpose is um … zu . English can show purpose with a plain to : I came to see her . German normally adds um at the start of the clause: Ich kam, um sie zu sehen . If you could say in order to in English, use um … zu in German. English -ing after a preposition is a German infinitive. English says without saying goodbye and instead of staying inside , with the -ing form. German has no -ing form after prepositions; it uses ohne or statt with zu and the infinitive: ohne sich zu verabschieden , statt drinnen zu bleiben . The same is true after many verbs: English I feel like going swimming becomes Ich habe Lust, schwimmen zu gehen . The bare infinitive works the same way. English uses no to after modals ( I can go ), after let and make , and after verbs of perception: I heard her sing . German drops zu after the modals, after lassen , which covers both let and make , and after verbs of perception. Here your English instinct mostly works; bleiben and gehen are the exceptions, where English uses -ing : stayed sitting , go swimming . A subject for the infinitive needs a different clause. An infinitive clause has no subject of its own; its subject is understood from the main clause. When the subjects differ, German uses a clause with dass instead: Es ist wichtig, dass du gehst , it's important for you to go . Engl