The infinitive in German (um…zu, ohne… zu)

What is the infinitive?

The basic form of a verb, which means the unconjugated form, is called infinitive. In German, there are some constructions of sentences, which always use the infinitive of a verb. This chapter will show you all the different constructions and how to use them in the correct way.

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Infinitive sentences with 'zu' in German

The construction with 'zu + infinitive' is used quite often in German and can be tranlated into english like 'in order to' or just 'to'. For instance, this constructions is often used when a sentence consists of two verbs. There are alway two possibilities of constructing the sentence: with and without 'zu'.

• Ich hoffe, ich kann die Prüfung schaffen. (I hope, I can pass the exam.)
• Ich hoffe, die Prüfung zu schaffen. (I hope to pass the exam.)

Those constructions with 'zu' are always subordinate clauses without a direct object.

There are some typical ways to use 'zu' with an infinitive. See some examples in the table below.

In some rare cases, the subordinate clause with 'zu' can stand in the beginning of the sentence.

• Ohne mich zu fragen, hat sie mein Handy geliehen. (Without asking me, she borrowed my mobile.)
• Um die Prüfung zu bestehen, musst du dir Mühe geben! (To pass the exam, you have to take care of doing so.)

The structure with 'um ... zu'

The strucure with 'um .. zu' is used to express purposes or aims. With separable verbs, the zu preposition is interposed between the prefix and the stem of the verb. (e.g. aushalten (to stand) = auszuhalten.) The construction can usually be translated into English by 'in order to' or just 'to'.

For example:

• Ich fahre nach Deutschland, um Deutsch zu lernen. (I go to Germany, in order to learn German.)

• Wir stehen um 7 Uhr auf, um Sport zu treiben. (We wake up at seven, to do some sports.)

• Er hört Musik, um sich abzulenken. (He hears music, to take his eyes off the ball.)

Infinitive sentence with 'damit'

To express an intention or purpose we can also use the construction with damit (so that). This preposition introduces an infinitive sentence but never holds the preposition 'zu'. The preposition 'zu' is missing, but the verb at the end is also in infinitive.

For example:

• Ich fahre nach Deutschland, damit ich Deutsch lernen kann. (I go to Germany, so that I can learn German.
• Wir stehen um 7 Uhr auf, damit wir Sport machen. (We wake up at seven, so that we can do some sports.)
• Er hört Musik, damit er sich ablenken kann. (He hears music, so that he can take his eyes off the ball.)

When the subjects of the main sentence and the subordinate sentence are different, you can only use the construction with a 'damit':

• Der Lehrer organisiert oft Gruppenarbeiten, damit die Schüler zusammenarbeiten können. (The teacher often organizes group work, so that the students can work together.)
• Ich helfe meiner Mutter, damit sie ihre Freizeit mehr genießen kann. (I help my mother, so she can enjoy her free time more.)

When you use two verbs in the subordinate sentence (like 'genießen kann'), the infinitive is the second last word in the sentence and is before the conjugated verb!

The structure with 'ohne ... zu'

Also the structure with 'ohne .. zu' introduces an infinitive sentence. In English, this structure is used as 'without + Gerundium'.

• Man kann diese Aufgabe schaffen, ohne sich Mühe zu geben. (One can succeed this exercise, without taking trouble.)
• Ich habe die Miete bezahlt, ohne den Vertrag zu unterschreiben. (I payed the rent, without signing the contract.)

The structure with 'anstatt .. zu'

To express something oppositional in German, you can use a sentence with '(an)statt ... zu' . It can be translated into English as 'instead of ..'. It is also used with the gerund after 'anstatt'.

• Wir senden eine Email, anstatt einen Brief zu schreiben. (We send an e-mail, instead of writing a letter.)
• Du isst Süßigkeiten, anstatt gesund zu essen. (You're eating sweets, instead of eating healthy.)
• Statt zu arbeiten, spielen sie. (Instead of working, they play.)

​The structure with 'als ... zu'

The construction of 'als ... zu' is mainly used as 'anstatt ... zu' to express oppisitional actions. It can be translated as 'rather than'.

• Es ist gesünder zu laufen, als mit dem Auto zu fahren. (It's healthier to go by food, rather than to go by car.)
• Wir gehen lieber shoppen, als zu lernen. (We would rather go shopping, than studying.)

Table of main verbs introducing the infinitive

There are some verbs that are typically used in infinitive sentences. See the words and the examples below to get a further understanding of it. The infinitive will always be italicised.

Table of expressions introducing infinitive sentences

These are the main expressions used in German to introduce an indefinite sentence. Of yourse, there are more expressions, but these should help to give you an idea about it.

How to form infinitive sentences in an alternative way

In German, it is also possible, to transform a noun into a verb and then use it in combination with the preposition 'zu'. See some examples below. Therefore, there are two different options, to use an infinitive sentence.

The infinitive group without the preposition 'zu'

There are also certain situations, where the verb is not preceeded by the preposition 'zu', but nevertheless is in infinitive. This is the case, if there exist two verbs in the sentence. In the table below you can find the situations and some examples.

Particularities and deepening

There are some peculiarities regarding the construction of infinite sentences. You will find them in the following chapters.

With separable verbs

The first particularity is with seperable verbs, which means, that the verb consists of one verb stem and a prefix infront of the verb (e.g. ab-reisen, an-fertigen). All of this verbs can also stand alone, without the prefix. In this case, the preposition 'zu' comes between the prefix and the infinitive of the verb.

In situations where the infinitive is not preceded by the preposition 'zu' (see above), the infinitive of separable verbs remains unchanged, like in the examples in the table below.

With reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs are for example verbs like 'sich vorstellen' (to introduce yourself). In the infinitive group, the reflexive pronoun is placed before the infinitive, whether it is introduced by 'zu' or not. Usually the reflexive pronoun is immediately after the comma, separating the main sentence from the subordinate sentence.

As you can see, the other rules you learned above, also work with reflexive verbs. In the first example we have a seperable verbs, which is why the preposition 'zu' is between the prefix and the normal verb stem (see above).

Infinitive sentence or construction with 'dass'?

We can choose to express the concept either with the infinitive sentence (with 'zu') or use the subordinate phrase introduced by 'dass' (without the zu). The meaning is unchanged, but in the 'dass'-phrase, we usually don't have an infinitive form of a verb.

• Ich hoffe, dass ich mein Studium bald abschließe. (I hope, that I finish my studies soon.)
• Ich hoffe, mein Studium bald abzuschließen. (I hope to finish my studies soon.)
• Luca freut sich darüber, dass er morgen Besuch bekommt. (Luca is pleased, that he has visitors tomorrow.)
• Luca freut sich darüber, morgen Besuch zu bekommen. (Luca is pleased to have visitors tomorrow.)

Infinitive sentences with 'zu' can only be used if the subjects (of the main and subordinate sentences) are identical. Otherwise the construction with 'dass' is used:

• Luca freut sich darüber, morgen Besuch zu bekommen. (Where Luca is the subject in the main and in the subordinate phrase)

• Luca freut sich darüber, dass er morgen Besuch bekommt. (Where Luca is the subject of the main sentence, but 'der Besuch' is the subject of the subordinate sentence.)

Other examples are:

• Luca hofft, dass Peter sein Studium bald abschließt. (Luca hopes, that Peter finishes his studies soon.)
• Sie freut sich darüber, dass ihre Schwester sie morgen besucht. (She is pleased that her sister will visit her tomorrow.)

Change of meaning with or without 'zu' in German

There are verbs that can introduce infinitive groups with or without the preposition 'zu'. Depending on the use they change their meaning, so keep attention to this.