Breakdown of Wir führen die Wartung und die Überprüfung zur Vermeidung von Schäden durch.
und
and
wir
we
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
der Schaden
the damage
durchführen
to conduct
zu
for (purpose)
die Überprüfung
the inspection (review, verification)
die Wartung
the maintenance
die Vermeidung
the avoidance
Questions & Answers about Wir führen die Wartung und die Überprüfung zur Vermeidung von Schäden durch.
How would this sentence look if we used a subordinate clause instead of the noun phrase zur Vermeidung?
You could use an um ... zu construction: Wir führen die Wartung und die Überprüfung durch, um Schäden zu vermeiden. The preposition zu combined with a noun (like die Vermeidung) is the standard way to nominalize a clause expressing purpose or intention.
Why is the contraction zur used here instead of just the preposition zu?
zur is the mandatory contraction of zu der. Because the preposition zu always requires the dative case, the feminine noun die Vermeidung changes its article to der.
Could we use the genitive case here instead of von Schäden?
Yes, but you would generally need a definite article, which changes the meaning slightly: zur Vermeidung der Schäden (to avoid the damages). Because the plural noun Schäden is used in a general sense here without an article or adjective to clearly mark the genitive case, German prefers using von + dative.
Why is the word durch sitting at the very end of the sentence?
It is the separable prefix of the verb durchführen (to carry out). In a standard main clause, the conjugated part of the verb (führen) stays in the second position, and the prefix (durch) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence, creating a bracket around the objects.
Learn Wir führen die Wartung und die Überprüfung zur Vermeidung von Schäden durch and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free