Breakdown of Liest du das Buch, anstatt zu zaubern?
du
you (informal singular)
das Buch
the book
lesen
to read
zu
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about Liest du das Buch, anstatt zu zaubern?
How does the 'instead of doing' part work in this sentence?
To say 'instead of doing [something]' in German, you use the structure anstatt ... zu plus the infinitive (the basic dictionary form) of the verb. Here, anstatt (instead) goes after the comma, and zu goes right before the verb zaubern (to do magic).
Could I use statt instead of anstatt here?
Yes! statt and anstatt mean the exact same thing. You will often hear people say statt zu zaubern, which is just a slightly shorter way to say it without changing the meaning.
Why is there a comma before anstatt?
In German, you use a comma to separate the main sentence (Liest du das Buch) from an infinitive clause. Whenever you attach a phrase starting with anstatt zu, ohne zu (without doing), or um zu (in order to do), you must place a comma right before it.
What if I want to add more details, like 'instead of doing magic tomorrow'?
Any extra information goes between anstatt and zu. So 'instead of doing magic tomorrow' would be anstatt morgen zu zaubern. The zu and the verb always lock together at the very end of the clause.