To practice expressing highly disciplined routines, we will explore the life of monks in a remote monastery.
| This old monastery is very remote. | Dieses alte Kloster ist sehr abgelegen. |
Habitual Actions with "pflegen zu"
Usually, pflegen means "to care for" or "to maintain." But when combined with zu and an infinitive verb, it means "to be accustomed to" or "to be in the habit of."
This formal construction is perfect for describing strict daily routines. Conjugate pflegen to match your subject, and place zu + the infinitive at the end of the sentence.
| The monks are accustomed to praying together in the mornings. | Die Mönche pflegen morgens gemeinsam zu beten. |
| We are accustomed to beginning our daily routine with a long prayer. | Wir pflegen unseren Tagesablauf mit einem langen Gebet zu beginnen. |
For yes/no questions, invert the subject and pflegen, just as you would with any other verb:
| Is the abbot accustomed to praying for a long time after dinner? | Pflegt der Abt nach dem Abendessen lange zu beten? |
Separable Verbs with "pflegen zu"
If the infinitive is a separable verb (like aufstehen), zu goes between the separable prefix and the verb stem to form a single word (aufzustehen).
| The abbot is accustomed to getting up before the sunrise. | Der Abt pflegt vor dem Sonnenaufgang aufzustehen. |
Dedicating Oneself: sich widmen
Another verb common in formal contexts is the reflexive sich widmen (to dedicate oneself to). The cause or virtue you dedicate yourself to takes the dative case.
| In this remote monastery, they dedicate themselves to modesty. | In diesem abgelegenen Kloster widmen sie sich der Bescheidenheit. |