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Infinitive clauses (Infinitivsätze) are a concise and elegant way to express purpose, manner, and alternatives in German. They use zu + infinitive at the end of the clause and have no separate subject — the subject is always the same as in the main clause. This lesson covers the three main infinitive clause types: um...zu, ohne...zu, and anstatt...zu, along with other important zu + infinitive constructions.
Before exploring the three main types, let's understand the basic zu + infinitive construction:
Main clause + comma + ... + zu + Infinitive
| Example | Translation |
|---|---|
| Ich versuche, Deutsch zu lernen. | I am trying to learn German. |
| Er hat vor, morgen abzureisen. | He plans to depart tomorrow. |
| Es ist schwer, früh aufzustehen. | It is hard to get up early. |
| Ich habe keine Lust, heute zu arbeiten. | I do not feel like working today. |
For separable verbs, zu is inserted between the prefix and the verb stem:
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