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Infinitive Clauses:

Infinitive Phrases are Clauses where the verb is not conjugated and instead stays in the Infinitive
form ( the base form)
An Infinitive phrase is a subordinate clause and does not have its own subject. The subject is only in the
main Clause. The subject, the accusative Complement, or the dative Complement of the main Clause has
to be the same as the subject of the subordinate Clause.
Infinitive phrases with ZU are used when the verb in the main Clause is directly related to the verb in the
subordinate Clause
The Main Clause shows how and in which direction the action in the subordinate clauses took place
Ich versuche , das Tor Zu treffen ( i try to hit the goal)

Usage:

When do we User ZU + Infinitive?

• After Specific Verbs: Verbs that are related to a second action and don’t have a 2nd
Subject Complement.

• Ich Schlage vor, heute Abend ins Kino Zu gehen.


The same Idea can be expressed with a dass -Phrase
Ich Schlage vor, dass wir heute Abend ins Kino gehen.
We can always use an Infinitive Phase “ZU + Infinitive” when the subject in the subordinate
Clause is not important

******
Infinitive Phrases are subordinate Clauses, so the verb comes at the end
Infinitive Phrase must always come after Main Clause ( SC+ MC is not possible)
*******

• When the subject has to be mentioned because multiple People or things are involved.
We cannot use Infinitve + ZU

• Ich hoffe , daser bald perfekt Deutsch spricht.


• Ich hoffe, bald perfekt Deutsch zu Sprechen.
If i want to express that someone wants to speak Perfekt German , I cannot use ZU+Infinitive
• Examples with Identical Accusative or Dative Objects:
The accusative Object is identical to the subject in the subordinate Clause:-
• Dass Clause: : Der Kellner bittet den Mann, dass er draussen raucht“
• Infinitive+ZU : Der Kellner bittet den mann, draussen zu rauchen

The Dataive Object is identical to the subject in the subordinate Clause:-


• Dass Clause: Der Kellner verbietet dem mann, dass er im Restaurant Raucht
• Infi+ZU : Der Kellner verbitet dem mann, im Restaurant zu Rauchen

Verbs that Require Infinitive Clauses

All verbs that require a second Action: such as


Aufhoren
Stoppen
Biginnen
Anfangen
Vorhaben -project/Pan
Warnen vor,
sich Weigern
These Verbs always corresponds to second action and require an "infinitive+ZU"

1. All verbs that have a "DASS Clause" Complement


>>>Ich hoffe , dass ich bald perfekt Deutsch spreche
Ich hoffe, bald perfect Deutsch Zu sprechen

2. The constructions SEIN/FINDEN + ADJECTIVES and HABEN+NOUNS


>>>>>Ich habe lust , mit dir ins kinos zu gehen
Ich finde es schwierig , die deutschen zu lernen

Es ist einfach , einen Job in Deutschland zu finden

With Separable verbs, the "ZU" comes between the prefix and the main part of the verb
It is all written together as one word
>>> Ich versuche, die Tur abzuschliessen
>>>> Ich schlage vor , morgen sehr fruh aufzustehen
Es ist schwierig, bei Larm einzuchlafen ( it is hard to fall asleep with noise)

VERBS WITHOUT INFINITIVE CLAUSES:

Some verbs are directly relted to a second verb and have a direct influence on how the action takes
place. They dont use an infinitive phrase and instead use sentence brackets
such verbs are
gehen, fahren, laufen, kommen, and the verbs bleiben, lassen, sehen and horen
The helping verbs HABEN, SEIN & WERDEN dont use an infinitive phrase with "ZU" because they dont
have their own meaning and are just used to construct the tense
>> Ich soll heute noch Hausaufgaben machen
( Modal verb and hence no infinitive)

>>>>Ich gehe morgen mit meinem Bruder einkaufen


( gehen - No infinitive)

>>>>>> Ich lasse mein Auto in der werkstatt repaireren


( Lass----no infinitive)

>>>>> ich werde morgen zum ersten Mal in die schule gehen
( werden -- no infinitive)

TIPPS
Infinitve Phrases are subordinate Clauses
Infinitive + ZU is used when the verb is directly related to the Second action
This applies to all verbs except Modal verbs, gehen, fahren, bleiben, kommen, lassen, sehen, und horen
because there is no Subject in the Infinitive Clause, it only works when the subject in the dass clause is
identical to the subject, the accusative object or the dative object in the Main Clause
The separation between two Clauses is not obligatory but it is recommended

Infinitiv mt ZU : Übung

• Hast du lust, mit mir ins Kino Zu gehen


• Es macht mir spazz, jeden tag joggen zu gehen
• Ich hoffe, bald von dir zu horen
• Ich verspreche, morgen punktlich zu sein
• Er hat anfangen, Deutsch zu lernen
• Ich habe vergessen, das fenster zu aufzumachen

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