Es lohnt sich, früh zu kommen.

It’s worth coming early.

Breakdown of Es lohnt sich, früh zu kommen.

• kommen: to come
• zu: to
• früh: early
• es: it
• sich lohnen: to be worth it

Questions & Answers about Es lohnt sich, früh zu kommen.

What is going on with the words es and sich in Es lohnt sich?

• sich lohnen is a set reflexive verb meaning “to be worth it.” The reflexive sich is part of the verb; it isn’t referring back to any person here.
• es is an anticipatory/dummy subject that “stands in” for the following infinitive clause. You could also say: Früh zu kommen lohnt sich (then you don’t need es).

Can I drop sich and say Es lohnt, früh zu kommen?

Generally no. Modern standard German prefers the reflexive: Es lohnt sich, …
Without sich, lohnen can be used transitively with an object, e.g. Der Besuch lohnt die Mühe (“The visit is worth the effort”), but in your structure the idiomatic choice is Es lohnt sich, …

Why is there a comma before früh zu kommen?

Because früh zu kommen is an infinitive clause. German usually sets off such clauses with a comma, especially when they’re announced by a “placeholder” like es. You will see the comma almost universally in this sentence: Es lohnt sich, früh zu kommen.
If you front the infinitive clause, there’s no comma: Früh zu kommen lohnt sich.

Why do we use zu kommen instead of just kommen?

German uses zu + infinitive to talk about actions in an abstract “to do X” way (like English “to come”). A bare infinitive without zu is used mainly after modal verbs and a few others (e.g., können, müssen, lassen, bleiben, sehen in causative/perception uses). Here you need zu: … lohnt sich, früh zu kommen.

Where does the adverb go: früh zu kommen or zu früh kommen?

• For “to come early,” put the adverb before the zu-infinitive: früh zu kommen.
• zu früh kommen means “to come too early” because zu with an adjective/adverb means “too.”
  Also note that zu in zu kommen is the infinitive marker, not “too.” So these are different uses of zu.

Should it be früh or früher?

• früh = early in general. Your sentence is fine as is.
• früher = earlier (comparative), i.e., earlier than some reference point: Es lohnt sich, früher zu kommen (als sonst). Use früher if you’re making a comparison explicit or implied.

Should I use kommen or ankommen?

• kommen = “come (to an event/place), show up.” It’s generic and works well here.
• ankommen = “arrive (at a destination).” Use it when the arrival at a specific place/time is in focus: Es lohnt sich, früh anzukommen.
  Note the spelling with separable verbs: the zu goes between prefix and stem → anzukommen, aufzustehen, etc.

Does früh kommen have a double meaning I should worry about?

In everyday contexts like events, früh kommen just means “to come early.” However, zu früh kommen can be a sexual euphemism. If you want to avoid any chance of innuendo, you can say:

• früh da sein
• frühzeitig ankommen
• eher ankommen (sooner arrive; stylistically a bit different)

How would I ask this as a yes/no question?

Use inversion and keep es:

• Lohnt es sich, früh zu kommen?
  Don’t drop es here; Lohnt sich, … is ungrammatical.

How do I negate it?

Insert nicht after sich:

• Es lohnt sich nicht, früh zu kommen.
  With a fronted infinitive clause:
• Früh zu kommen lohnt sich nicht.

Can I say for whom it’s worth it?

Yes, with für + Akkusativ:

• Es lohnt sich für mich/dich/uns, früh zu kommen. You can also front the für-phrase for emphasis:
• Für dich lohnt es sich, früh zu kommen.

Are there natural paraphrases?

• Es ist es wert, früh zu kommen.
• Das lohnt sich. (if context already implies “coming early”)
• Regional (Austria/parts of southern Germany): Es zahlt sich aus, früh zu kommen.
• Recommendation tone: Man sollte früh kommen. (focuses on advice rather than “worth it”)

Can I move the infinitive clause to the front?

Yes:

• Früh zu kommen lohnt sich.
  This sounds a bit more formal/emphatic because it foregrounds the action.

Which verbs take a bare infinitive (no zu) and which take zu?

• Bare infinitive: after modals (können, müssen, dürfen, wollen, sollen, mögen), and some verbs like lassen, bleiben, gehen (with movement meaning), and perception/causative uses (sehen, hören, helfen sometimes varies). Example: Du solltest früh kommen.
• zu + infinitive: most other cases, including after adjectives/nouns or fixed expressions like Es lohnt sich, …; Es ist schwer, …

What’s the form of sich here, and does it ever change?

Here sich is the 3rd-person accusative reflexive pronoun. With sich lohnen, the subject is typically impersonal es or a 3rd-person thing: Die Fahrt lohnt sich.
You don’t normally say Ich lohne mich; the verb isn’t used that way in modern German.

How can I put it in another tense?

• Past/Perfect: Es hat sich gelohnt, früh zu kommen.
• Future: Es wird sich lohnen, früh zu kommen.
• Conditional: Es würde sich lohnen, früh zu kommen.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

• lohnt: long “o” [loːnt]; the h signals vowel length, it’s silent.
• sich: the “ch” is the soft “ich-sound” [ç].
• früh: the ü is a front rounded vowel [yː]; round your lips while saying “ee.”