Breakdown of Du holst das Kaninchen, ohne es zu verstecken.
du
you (informal singular)
es
it
ohne
without
holen
to get / to fetch
Questions & Answers about Du holst das Kaninchen, ohne es zu verstecken.
How does the ohne ... zu structure work here?
It translates to "without doing [something]". The word ohne (without) starts the phrase, and zu (to) goes right before the infinitive verb at the very end: zu verstecken. Notice that in German, you must put a comma before ohne to separate this clause from the main sentence.
Why do we use es for "it"?
The pronoun es refers back to the rabbit. Even though a rabbit is a living animal, the German word is neuter (das Kaninchen). In German, you must always match the pronoun to the grammatical gender of the noun it replaces, so neuter nouns take es.
Why are zu and verstecken written as two separate words? I've sometimes seen them joined together.
You only combine them into one single word if the verb is a separable verb. For example, if you used the separable verb aufmachen (to open), it would become aufzumachen. Because verstecken starts with the inseparable prefix ver-, the zu simply stays as a separate word in front of it.
What is the exact meaning of holst in this context?