Breakdown of Wir lehnen es ab, dieses Abkommen zu unterzeichnen.
es
it
wir
we
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
zu
to (infinitive marker)
das Abkommen
the agreement
ablehnen
to refuse
unterzeichnen
to sign (formal, e.g. contracts, treaties)
Questions & Answers about Wir lehnen es ab, dieses Abkommen zu unterzeichnen.
Why is there an es before the comma?
The separable verb ablehnen (to refuse or reject) expects a direct object. Since the thing being refused is an entire action rather than a simple noun, es acts as a placeholder in the main clause, pointing forward to the zu-infinitive clause.
Is it mandatory to use es here?
For ablehnen, yes. While some German verbs allow you to drop the placeholder es before a zu-infinitive clause (like versuchen), ablehnen strongly prefers it to bridge the main clause and the action.
How does this sentence relate to the lesson's focus on Noun-Verb combinations?
While it doesn't use a preposition, ein Abkommen unterzeichnen (to sign a treaty) is a fixed formal Noun-Verb combination. It is the standard political or business partnership, sounding much more official than the everyday equivalent einen Vertrag unterschreiben.
What gender is Abkommen and why?
It is neuter (das Abkommen), which is why it takes dieses in the accusative case. A helpful rule: German nouns that are formed directly from a verb's infinitive (nominalized verbs) are always neuter.
Could I rewrite the second half using dass instead of zu?
Grammatically, you could say ..., dass wir dieses Abkommen unterzeichnen. However, because the subject (wir) is the same in both halves of the sentence, the zu-infinitive is far more natural and elegant. At the B2 level, always prefer zu-infinitives when the subjects match.
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