Word
Wir freuen uns darauf, die Ernte zu feiern.
Meaning
We look forward to celebrating the harvest.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wir freuen uns darauf, die Ernte zu feiern.
wir
we
feiern
to celebrate
sich freuen auf
to look forward to (with auf)
darauf
on it
Questions & Answers about Wir freuen uns darauf, die Ernte zu feiern.
Why do we need darauf here instead of just connecting the sentence directly?
The verb sich freuen requires the preposition auf when you are looking forward to something. However, German prepositions cannot attach directly to an action, such as the infinitive clause die Ernte zu feiern. We use darauf in the main clause as a placeholder. It essentially translates to 'We look forward to it', and the clause after the comma explains exactly what 'it' is.
Would it mean the same thing if I used darüber instead of darauf?
No, the meaning would change entirely. The verb sich freuen auf refers to looking forward to a future event. If you use sich freuen über and therefore the placeholder darüber, it means you are happy about something that has already happened or is happening right now.
Why is uns in the sentence?
The verb sich freuen is reflexive, meaning it requires a reflexive pronoun that matches the subject. Since the subject is Wir, we must use the reflexive pronoun uns to express that we are the ones experiencing the joy.
Is the comma before die Ernte required?
Yes. When an infinitive clause with zu includes additional elements like a direct object, which in this case is die Ernte, German grammar requires you to separate that entire infinitive clause from the main clause using a comma.