Breakdown of Ich hasse es, früh aufzustehen.
ich
I
es
it
früh
early
aufstehen
to get up
zu
to (infinitive marker)
hassen
to hate
Questions & Answers about Ich hasse es, früh aufzustehen.
Why is the word es in this sentence when the English translation just says I hate getting up?
Here, es acts as a placeholder object (a Korrelat). The verb hassen normally expects a direct object. Because the actual thing you hate is expressed as a whole separate infinitive phrase (früh aufzustehen), es steps in to hold the grammatical place of the object in the main clause.
Is it absolutely necessary to include es here, or can I just say Ich hasse, früh aufzustehen?
With the verb hassen, the placeholder es is highly recommended and sounds much more natural. Some verbs allow you to drop the placeholder, but verbs expressing strong personal preference or emotion (like lieben, hassen, or bedauern) almost always use es to introduce a following infinitive clause.
Why is zu tucked into the middle of aufzustehen rather than placed before it?
The verb aufstehen is a separable verb (auf + stehen). When you form an infinitive phrase with zu (meaning to get up), the zu gets wedged between the separable prefix and the main verb, forming a single continuous word: aufzustehen.
Do I have to use a comma before the infinitive phrase früh aufzustehen?
Yes, in this specific case the comma is mandatory. While German comma rules for infinitive clauses have relaxed over the years, you are required to use a comma if the main clause contains a placeholder word like es that explicitly points forward to that infinitive clause.
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