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German Grammar

Infinitive constructions
Short sentences and clauses can be linked
using infinitive constructions, like um...zu...,
ohne...zu... and anstatt...zu... to make your level
of German more complex.

Revise Test

Page 3 of 5

um…zu… with the infinitives of

separable verbs
When you use a separable verb, you usually
have to take off the prefix and put it at the end of
the clause.

anziehen - to put on

sie zieht ein Pulli an - she puts a jumper on

fernsehen - to watch TV

ich sehe oft fern - I often watch TV

In an um...zu... clause, the infinitive has to be at

the end. But when using a separable verb, you
'separate' the prefix and the rest of the infinitive by
inserting zu between them, so that they sit
together as one word at the end of the sentence.

The following examples will explain it more clearly,

where you can see that the zu is embedded within
the separable verb.

aufstehen – to get up > um… aufzustehen – in

order to get up
fernsehen – to watch TV > um… fernzusehen –
in order to watch TV
abfahren – to depart > um… abzufahren – in
order to depart

Ich gehe ins Wohnzimmer, um eine Stunde

fernzusehen
. – I go into the lounge in order to watch TV for an
hour.

The zu has forced its way between the prefix and

the rest of the infinitive and snuggled in nicely.

Q Question

Link these sentences with um...zu… in the

middle, then translate them into English to
check your understanding.

Ich bin einkaufen gegangen. Ich habe ein

Tablet abgeholt.
Der Bäcker ist früh da. Er macht den Laden
auf.
Er bleibt zu Hause. Er will fernsehen.

A Reveal answer

Q Question

Link these sentences with um...zu... at the

beginning.

Wir kommen rechtzeitig an. Wir fahren um

sechs Uhr ab.
Ich brauche einen Wecker. Ich stehe früh
auf.
Sie nehmen den neuen Hund nach Europa
mit. Sie müssen einen Reisepass
benutzen.

A Reveal answer

Page 3 of 5

Glossary

More Guides

Present tense

Future tense

Perfect tense

Imperfect tense

Conditional tense

Modal verbs

Negatives

Infinitive constructions

Word order

Nouns

Pronouns

Numbers

Adjectives and adverbs

Cases

Prepositions

Conjunctions

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