Breakdown of Wir haben die Absicht, den Botschafter zu treffen.
haben
to have
wir
we
treffen
to meet
zu
to (infinitive marker)
die Absicht
the intention
der Botschafter
the ambassador
Questions & Answers about Wir haben die Absicht, den Botschafter zu treffen.
This lesson is about noun-verb constructions. Is die Absicht haben one of them, and why use it instead of just saying wollen?
Yes! die Absicht haben (to have the intention) is a classic noun-verb construction (Nomen-Verb-Verbindung). It means the same thing as the verb beabsichtigen (to intend) or the modal verb wollen (to want). In B2/C1 German, these constructions are heavily used in formal writing and polite speech to sound more professional or diplomatic than a simple Wir wollen....
The current topic mentions prepositional noun-verb constructions. Does die Absicht haben take a preposition here?
No, and that is an important distinction to learn. While many noun-verb constructions require a specific preposition (like Interesse haben an), die Absicht haben usually connects to the next action via an infinitive clause with zu (... zu treffen). It works exactly like the English translation "the intention to meet".
Why is there a comma before den Botschafter?
The comma separates the main clause (Wir haben die Absicht) from the extended infinitive clause (den Botschafter zu treffen). In German, if an infinitive phrase includes objects or extra words (like the object den Botschafter here), it is highly recommended and usually required to set it off with a comma.
Why is Botschafter in the accusative case (den) here? Doesn't meeting someone sometimes require the dative?
It depends on the verb you choose. The verb used here is treffen (to meet/to hit), which always takes a direct accusative object (den Botschafter). You might be remembering the verb begegnen (to encounter/meet by chance), which is a classic B1-level verb that requires the dative case (dem Botschafter).
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