Breakdown of Ich brauche den Schraubenzieher, um die Schraube zu befestigen.
ich
I
brauchen
to need
um
at (time)
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der Schraubenzieher
the screwdriver
befestigen
to attach
die Schraube
the screw
Questions & Answers about Ich brauche den Schraubenzieher, um die Schraube zu befestigen.
Why do we use um ... zu here instead of just zu?
The construction um ... zu specifically expresses purpose, translating to 'in order to'. While English often just uses 'to' (I need the screwdriver to attach the screw), German requires um at the beginning of the clause and zu right before the infinitive verb at the end to clearly show intention.
Why is it den Schraubenzieher and not der?
The verb brauchen (to need) takes a direct object, which must be in the accusative case. Because Schraubenzieher is a masculine noun, its article changes from the nominative der to the accusative den.
Is there a trick to remembering the word Schraubenzieher?
Yes! It is a compound noun made of Schraube (screw) and Zieher (puller, from the verb ziehen, to pull). Even though you turn a screw rather than pull it, this remains the most common everyday word for screwdriver in German.
What would happen to the zu if we used a separable verb like festmachen (to fasten) instead of befestigen?
Because befestigen is an inseparable verb, the zu sits right in front of it as a separate word. If you used a separable verb, the zu would get squeezed directly between the prefix and the verb root to form one single word, like this: um die Schraube festzumachen.
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