Usages of zu
Ich gehe allein zur Arbeit.
I go to work alone.
zu + der = zur
Did you recognize the Dativ?
Hint: die Arbeit is feminine
zu is a preposition followed by the Dative case.
zuhause
at home
zu ihm
at him
zu + Dative form of er
Die Frau sieht zu ihm herüber.
The woman looks at him.
Sie lächelt zu ihm herüber.
She smiles at him.
We are watching the story from the eyes of the little man. So the smile comes towards us: herüber
Setzen Sie sich doch zu mir!
Why don't you sit down with me!?!
Er setzt sich zu der Frau.
He sits down with the woman.
we don't use 'with' (mit) here in German. It would mean that they both sit down together. Since the woman sits already, the man is sitting down 'to' the woman: zu.
er hat sich nicht getraut zu ...
he didn't dare to + infinitive
Er hat sich nicht getraut zu fragen.
He didn't dare to ask.
immerzu
all the time
zur
to the; for the feminine, contraction of zu + der
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