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### Infinitive clauses with "zu"

When you want to express an intention, goal, or plan, you often link a main clause to an infinitive clause. Just like saying "I try *to learn*" in English, German uses **zu** (to) along with the infinitive form of a verb.

This is commonly used with verbs like **versuchen** (to try) and **vorhaben** (to intend).

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### Word order

Infinitive clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma. Inside the infinitive clause, any objects or extra information come first, and **zu** + the infinitive verb are placed at the very end.

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### Using nouns and adjectives

Infinitive clauses aren't just for verbs. You can also use them to expand on nouns—like a plan, a habit, or a goal—or after descriptive phrases starting with "Es ist..." (It is...).

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### Separable verbs

When the verb in your infinitive clause is a separable verb, **zu** is squeezed directly between the separable prefix and the main verb stem. The whole combination is written together as a single word.

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Infinitive clauses (zu)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the goal	das Ziel
to (infinitive marker)	zu
to improve	verbessern
My goal is to improve my German.	Mein Ziel ist es, mein Deutsch zu verbessern.
Are you trying to improve your German?	Versuchst du, dein Deutsch zu verbessern?
to intend	vorhaben
What do you intend to do?	Was hast du vor?
daily	täglich
I intend to jog daily.	Ich habe vor, täglich zu joggen.
Do you often forget to drink water?	Vergisst du oft, Wasser zu trinken?
the habit	die Gewohnheit
It is a good habit to get up early.	Es ist eine gute Gewohnheit, früh aufzustehen.
to change (modify, alter)	ändern
I am trying to change my bad habit.	Ich versuche, meine schlechte Gewohnheit zu ändern.
the plan	der Plan
We have a plan to change our lives.	Wir haben einen Plan, unser Leben zu ändern.
My plan is to do more sport.	Mein Plan ist es, mehr Sport zu machen.
difficult	schwierig
to achieve / to reach (a level)	erreichen
It is difficult to achieve the goal.	Es ist schwierig, das Ziel zu erreichen.
They are afraid of not achieving the goal.	Sie haben Angst, das Ziel nicht zu erreichen.
the language	die Sprache
Is it difficult to speak the language perfectly?	Ist es schwierig, die Sprache perfekt zu sprechen?
I would have time to learn the new language.	Ich hätte Zeit, die neue Sprache zu lernen.
I intend to speak with my partner.	Ich habe vor, mit meinem Partner zu sprechen.
Did you arrive on time today?	Bist du heute pünktlich angekommen?
I try to jog daily.	Ich versuche, täglich zu joggen.