Breakdown of Verrate das Geheimnis, ohne die Münze zu verstecken!
ohne
without
das Geheimnis
the secret
zu
to (infinitive marker)
verraten
to reveal
die Münze
the coin
verstecken
to hide
Questions & Answers about Verrate das Geheimnis, ohne die Münze zu verstecken!
How exactly does the ohne ... zu structure translate to "without hiding"?
In English, we say "without" plus an "-ing" verb ("without hiding"). German handles this by using ohne (without) followed by an infinitive clause. The pattern is always ohne + [any objects or details] + zu + the infinitive verb (verstecken).
Why does die Münze come between ohne and zu verstecken?
In a German infinitive clause, the zu + infinitive always gets pushed to the very end of the phrase. So ohne opens the clause, the object (die Münze) sits in the middle, and zu verstecken acts as the anchor at the end.
Do I always need a comma before ohne in this type of sentence?
Yes! Whenever you use an extended infinitive structure like ohne ... zu (without doing), (an)statt ... zu (instead of doing), or um ... zu (in order to do), you must separate it from the main sentence with a comma.
Why does the sentence start with Verrate instead of Du verrätst?
This is a command (the imperative) given to one person informally. To form the du command, you take the regular verb form and drop the pronoun du and the -st ending. The verb is verraten (to reveal). Sometimes an extra -e is kept or added to the end, giving us Verrate.
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