Breakdown of Der Therapeut sagt, dass man die Angst nicht vermeiden darf, um sich daran zu gewöhnen.
sagen
to say
nicht
not
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
die Angst
the fear
daran
about it / of it
man
one / you (impersonal)
dass
that
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
um ... zu
in order to
der Therapeut
the therapist
vermeiden
to avoid
sich gewöhnen an
to get used to
Questions & Answers about Der Therapeut sagt, dass man die Angst nicht vermeiden darf, um sich daran zu gewöhnen.
What does daran refer to here? Is it anticipating a dass-clause like in our current lesson?
No, in this specific sentence, daran points backward to die Angst (the fear), meaning "to it". While you've been learning about da-compounds that point forward to a dass-clause (like Ich erinnere mich daran, dass...), here it simply replaces "to the fear" so we don't have to repeat the word. It is formed using da- plus the preposition an, which is required by the verb sich gewöhnen (to get used to).
Why do we use nicht dürfen (nicht vermeiden darf) when the English translation says "must not"?
This is an important difference to remember! In German, nicht müssen means "don't have to" (meaning it's optional). To express a strict prohibition like "must not", you must use nicht dürfen (literally "not allowed to"). Therefore, man darf nicht vermeiden means "one must not avoid".
Why does the sentence use an um ... zu clause at the end?
The structure um ... zu plus an infinitive verb translates to "in order to". We use it to express a purpose or goal. It's used here because the subject of the main action (man) is the exact same subject performing the action of getting used to the fear. Using um ... zu allows us to skip repeating the subject!
Why do we need the word sich before daran?
The verb for "to get used to" in German is sich gewöhnen an. It is a reflexive verb, meaning it requires a reflexive pronoun. Since the unstated subject of the um ... zu clause is the general man (one/you) from the previous clause, the correct reflexive pronoun to use is sich.
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