Breakdown of Wir freuen uns darauf, ab unserem nächsten Urlaub den Garten zu pflegen.
wir
we
der Garten
the garden
unser
our
der Urlaub
the vacation / the holiday
sich freuen auf
to look forward to (with auf)
darauf
on it
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
ab
from / starting at
nächste
next
pflegen
to care for
Questions & Answers about Wir freuen uns darauf, ab unserem nächsten Urlaub den Garten zu pflegen.
Why do we need darauf in the first part of the sentence?
The verb sich freuen (to look forward to) requires the preposition auf. When you are looking forward to an action rather than a noun, you can't just put auf next to the action. Instead, you combine da + r + auf to create darauf. This acts as a placeholder in the main clause that points ahead to the infinitive clause (den Garten zu pflegen).
Could we use darüber instead of darauf here?
No, because of the time frame. You use sich freuen auf (and therefore darauf) when you are looking forward to a future event. You use sich freuen über (and darüber) when you are happy about something happening right now or in the past. Since this action starts at the next vacation, it must be darauf.
Why does the sentence use unserem nächsten Urlaub with those specific endings?
The preposition ab (meaning starting from) triggers the dative case. Since vacation is masculine (der Urlaub), the possessive word for our becomes unserem and the adjective next gets the dative ending -en, resulting in unserem nächsten Urlaub.
Why is den Garten placed before zu pflegen?
In German infinitive clauses, the verb structure (zu pflegen) must go at the very end. Any objects or additional information related to that action, like den Garten, are placed before it.
Learn Wir freuen uns darauf, ab unserem nächsten Urlaub den Garten zu pflegen and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free