Breakdown of Die Handschuhe sind zu dick, um dem Kind die Schnürsenkel zuzubinden.
sein
to be
das Kind
the child
zu
too (e.g., too big)
dick
thick / fat
Questions & Answers about Die Handschuhe sind zu dick, um dem Kind die Schnürsenkel zuzubinden.
Why do we say dem Kind die Schnürsenkel instead of die Schnürsenkel des Kindes or seine Schnürsenkel?
This is the possessive dative (the focus of this lesson). When an action is performed on someone's body parts or clothing (like tying their shoes), German prefers using the dative case for the person (dem Kind) alongside the simple definite article for the item (die Schnürsenkel). It sounds much more natural than using a possessive pronoun or the genitive case.
Why does the verb zuzubinden have zu in it twice?
The base verb here is zubinden (to tie up/shut), which is a separable verb. Because this sentence uses an um ... zu (in order to) construction, the infinitive zu must be inserted between the separable prefix (zu-) and the verb stem (-binden), resulting in the funny-looking zuzubinden.
Wait, I thought an um ... zu clause must have the same subject as the main clause. The gloves (die Handschuhe) aren't tying the shoes!
You are right that they normally share a subject! However, there is a common exception when the main clause uses zu + [adjective] (here: zu dick - too thick). In this specific structure, the implied subject of the um ... zu clause can be a general "someone" or simply understood from context. It mirrors English perfectly: "The gloves are too thick [for someone] to tie the shoelaces."
If I wanted to explicitly say the gloves are too thick for me to tie the shoes, could I add für mich?