Breakdown of Der Betriebsrat hat den Standard geändert, ohne den Chef zu fragen.
fragen
to ask
haben
to have
der Chef
the boss (male)
ohne
without
zu
to (infinitive marker)
ändern
to change (modify, alter)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Standard
the standard
der Betriebsrat
the works council
Questions & Answers about Der Betriebsrat hat den Standard geändert, ohne den Chef zu fragen.
Why is it ohne den Chef zu fragen instead of translating "without asking" directly with an "-ing" form?
English uses an "-ing" verb here (asking), but German uses the ohne ... zu structure with an infinitive verb. In this grammar pattern, the verb is pushed to the very end of the clause, and zu is placed immediately in front of it.
Why is there a comma before ohne?
In German, infinitive clauses introduced by ohne (without), um (in order to), or anstatt (instead of) are always separated from the main clause by a comma. The main clause here is Der Betriebsrat hat den Standard geändert.
Why does it say den Chef in the second part of the sentence?
Even though it is inside an infinitive phrase, the noun is still the direct object receiving the action of the verb fragen (to ask). Because der Chef is a masculine noun, it must change to the accusative case, becoming den Chef.
What exactly is a Betriebsrat?
A Betriebsrat is a works council. It is a compound word made of der Betrieb (the company or business) and der Rat (the council). In the German working world, this is a very common term for an elected group of employees who represent the staff's interests to the management.
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