Learn German: Bevor die Blumen blühen, denken wir daran, das Unkraut zu ziehen. - Before the flowers bloom, we think of pulling the weeds.

Bevor die Blumen blühen, denken wir daran, das Unkraut zu ziehen.

Before the flowers bloom, we think of pulling the weeds.

Breakdown of Bevor die Blumen blühen, denken wir daran, das Unkraut zu ziehen.

Questions & Answers about Bevor die Blumen blühen, denken wir daran, das Unkraut zu ziehen.

Why do we use daran here instead of just linking directly to the action?

The verb denken requires the preposition an when you are thinking about a topic or task. Because the task here is a full action (das Unkraut zu ziehen), we need a grammatical placeholder in the main clause. We combine da + r + an to make daran. This anticipatory adverb essentially says 'we think about IT', pointing forward to the infinitive clause that tells us exactly what that task is.

Why is the verb denken immediately after the comma?

This is because of the strict 'verb second' rule in German main clauses. The entire introductory subordinate clause (Bevor die Blumen blühen) occupies the first position. To keep the conjugated verb in position two, denken must come right after the comma, which pushes the subject wir into the third position.

Why is zu placed right before ziehen at the end?

This forms an infinitive clause with zu (similar to 'to pull' in English). When an action acts as the object of your main sentence, the verb goes to the very end in its infinitive or dictionary form, with zu directly in front of it. It completes the thought introduced by daran.

Could I use the word vor instead of bevor here?