Breakdown of Ich brauche dieses Zertifikat, um eine gute Arbeit zu bekommen.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
gut
good / well
brauchen
to need
die Arbeit
the work
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
zu
to (infinitive marker)
das Zertifikat
the certificate
um ... zu
in order to
bekommen
to receive / to get (be given)
Questions & Answers about Ich brauche dieses Zertifikat, um eine gute Arbeit zu bekommen.
How does the um ... zu structure work in this sentence?
um ... zu translates to "in order to". The word um comes right after the comma to introduce your goal, and zu goes right before the infinitive verb at the very end of the sentence (zu bekommen). The object you are trying to get (eine gute Arbeit) is sandwiched right in between them.
Does bekommen mean "to become"?
No, this is a classic "false friend"! bekommen means "to get" or "to receive" (like getting a job or receiving a letter). If you want to say "to become" in German, you need the verb werden.
Why is there an -e on the end of gute in eine gute Arbeit?
The noun Arbeit is feminine (die Arbeit), and here it is the direct object (accusative case) of what you want to get. After the word eine, adjectives describing feminine nouns in the accusative case take an -e ending, resulting in eine gute Arbeit.
Why do we say dieses Zertifikat instead of diesen or diese?
The word for certificate is a neuter noun (das Zertifikat). Because it is the direct object of the verb brauchen (to need), it is in the accusative case. For neuter nouns in the accusative case, the word for "this" must take an -es ending, becoming dieses.
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