Breakdown of Wir helfen ihm, sich einzuleben, anstatt aufzugeben.
wir
we
helfen
to help
ihm
him / it / to him / to it (dative)
aufgeben
to give up (surrender, quit)
anstatt
instead of
sich einleben
to settle in
Questions & Answers about Wir helfen ihm, sich einzuleben, anstatt aufzugeben.
Why do we use the dative pronoun ihm instead of the accusative ihn?
The verb helfen (to help) always takes a dative object in German. Even though 'him' feels like a direct object in English, German requires the dative ihm.
Why does einleben become einzuleben here?
When a separable verb is used in a zu (to) infinitive phrase, the zu gets wedged between the separable prefix (ein-) and the main verb (leben). This creates a single word: einzuleben.
Why is the word sich included in the sentence?
The verb for 'to settle in' is reflexive in German: sich einleben (literally 'to settle oneself in'). Because it refers to the person settling in (ihm), it uses the third-person reflexive pronoun sich.
How does the phrase anstatt aufzugeben work?
The structure anstatt ... zu means 'instead of [doing something]'. Just like with einzuleben, the verb aufgeben (to give up) is separable, so the zu is tucked inside to make aufzugeben. Notice that while English uses an '-ing' word here, German uses this infinitive structure.
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