Breakdown of Wir gehen zur Universität, um die Vorlesung zu hören.
wir
we
hören
to hear / to listen
gehen
to go
zur
to the (zu + der)
die Universität
the university
zu
to (infinitive marker)
um ... zu
in order to
die Vorlesung
the lecture
Questions & Answers about Wir gehen zur Universität, um die Vorlesung zu hören.
How exactly does the um ... zu structure work in this sentence?
It translates to 'in order to'. The word um starts the phrase right after the comma, and zu goes immediately before the infinitive verb (hören) at the very end of the sentence. The object, die Vorlesung (the lecture), is sandwiched between them.
Is the comma before um strictly necessary?
Yes! In German, you must always use a comma to separate the main clause (Wir gehen zur Universität) from an infinitive phrase that starts with um.
Since we are moving to the university, why do we use the dative zur instead of the accusative?
While two-way prepositions use the accusative case to show movement or direction, the preposition zu is strict: it always takes the dative case, no matter what. Since Universität is feminine (die), zu and the dative der combine into the contraction zur.
Why do we say we 'hear' (hören) a lecture?
In German, hören is the standard verb used for attending a university lecture (die Vorlesung). So while in English you might 'attend' or 'go to' a lecture, in German you 'hear' it.
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