Wir wollen mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein.

We want to be finished with the term paper by the deadline.

Breakdown of Wir wollen mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein.

• sein: to be
• mit: with
• wir: we
• fertig: finished
• wollen: to want to
• zur: to the; (feminine, dative)
• bis: by
• die Hausarbeit: the term paper
• die Deadline: the deadline

Questions & Answers about Wir wollen mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein.

Why does the sentence use wollen? Could I also say möchten, and what’s the difference?

Both are grammatically possible, but they don’t feel the same:

• wollen = to want / intend to, to plan to do something

  • Stronger, more direct: expresses intention or determination.
  • Here: Wir wollen … fertig sein = We intend / plan to be finished…

• möchten = would like to

  • Softer, more polite, more about desire or wish than concrete plan.
  • Wir möchten mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein sounds like “We would like to be finished…”, a bit less about a firm plan.

In this context, wollen fits well because it’s about a concrete goal by a specific deadline, not just a vague wish.

Why is the present tense used (wir wollen … sein) instead of a future form like wir werden … sein?

German very often uses the present tense for future meaning when the time reference is clear from context or from a time expression:

• Wir wollen mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein.
  = We want to be finished with the paper by the deadline.

Because bis zur Deadline clearly refers to the future, adding werden is normally unnecessary.

You could say Wir werden mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein, but that’s more like a prediction (“We will be finished by the deadline”), not a plan/goal (“We want to be…”). The original sentence focuses on the intention, so wollen + present is exactly right.

Why mit der Hausarbeit fertig sein and not just die Hausarbeit fertig sein?

In German, being finished with something is normally expressed with mit + dative:

• mit der Hausarbeit fertig sein = to be finished with the paper
• mit den Hausaufgaben fertig sein = to be finished with the homework

So:

• mit introduces the thing you are finishing.
• The noun after mit must be in the dative case:
  
  • die Hausarbeit (nominative) → mit der Hausarbeit (dative).

Saying die Hausarbeit fertig sein without mit is not idiomatic. You’d either say:

• mit der Hausarbeit fertig sein (be finished with the paper), or
• die Hausarbeit fertig haben / beenden (have the paper finished / finish the paper).

Why is it mit der Hausarbeit (dative)? How do I know it’s not accusative?

Because of the preposition mit.

In German, certain prepositions always require a specific case. Mit is one of them:

• mit → always takes the dative.

So:

• Feminine noun die Hausarbeit (nominative)
• Dative singular feminine → der Hausarbeit
• With mit: mit der Hausarbeit

It’s not about “direct object” here; the case is fixed by the preposition mit, not by the verb.

Why bis zur Deadline and not bis die Deadline?

There are two things going on here:

1. bis with time expressions:

   • With bare time words, German often uses bis alone:
     
     • bis Montag, bis morgen, bis nächste Woche
   • But with a noun that has an article, speakers very often say bis zu + dative:
     • bis zum Ende, bis zur Pause

2. In this sentence, that pattern is followed:

   • zu + der Deadline → zur Deadline (dative feminine)
   • So you get bis zur Deadline (literally “until to the deadline”).

Bis die Deadline is not idiomatic. You either drop the article (bis Deadline – sounds off) or, more naturally, you say bis zur Deadline.

What exactly is zur? Why not zu der Deadline?

Zur is just the contracted form of zu der:

• zu der Deadline → zur Deadline

German often contracts zu + definite article:

• zu dem → zum (masculine/neuter dative)
• zu der → zur (feminine dative)

So zur is zu + der, and the case is dative: der Deadline.

Why is it der Hausarbeit and zur Deadline? What are the genders and cases?

The forms come from the noun genders and the required cases:

1. Hausarbeit

   • Gender: feminine (die Hausarbeit)
   • Preposition: mit → always dative
   • Feminine dative singular: der
   • So: mit der Hausarbeit

2. Deadline

   • Gender in German: usually treated as feminine (die Deadline)
   • Preposition: zu (inside zur) → dative
   • Feminine dative singular: der
   • zu der Deadline → contracted to zur Deadline

So both der Hausarbeit and der (in zur) Deadline are dative singular feminine forms.

Why is it fertig sein and not sein fertig at the end?

Fertig sein works like “to be finished” in English:

• sein = “to be” (here, infinitive)
• fertig = predicative adjective (“finished”)

In German, with sein, the adjective normally comes before the infinitive in infinitive constructions:

• fertig sein, krank sein, glücklich sein

Since wollen is a modal verb, the other verb (here sein) goes to the end in infinitive form. The adjective that belongs with it (fertig) stays directly in front of sein:

• Wir wollen … fertig sein.

… sein fertig would be wrong; German doesn’t split sein from its predicate adjective like that in this structure.

Could I say Wir wollen mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig werden? What’s the difference to fertig sein?

Yes, you can say that, and it’s grammatically correct:

• fertig sein = to be finished (focus on the state at that time)
• fertig werden = to get / become finished (focus more on the process of reaching completion)

With a deadline, fertig sein is more common/idiomatic because you care about the state at the deadline: by that time, you want to be done.

… fertig werden sounds a bit more about “managing to get it done by then,” which can also fit, but fertig sein is the standard phrasing with bis zur Deadline.

Could I also say Wir wollen die Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig haben? Is that different?

Yes, that’s also correct:

• mit der Hausarbeit fertig sein
• die Hausarbeit fertig haben

Both mean roughly the same: you want the paper to be finished by the deadline.

Nuances:

• mit der Hausarbeit fertig sein

  • Focus on you being done with it.
  • Very common and idiomatic.

• die Hausarbeit fertig haben

  • Focus a bit more on the work itself being in a “finished” state and in your possession.

In practice, both are natural, and in many contexts they’re interchangeable.

What is the difference between Hausarbeit and Hausaufgaben? Does Hausarbeit just mean “homework”?

Not exactly. Typical meanings:

• Hausaufgaben
  
  • = homework (usually day‑to‑day school homework, exercises, etc.)
• Hausarbeit
  
  • In an academic context: a term paper, seminar paper, longer written assignment at university or sometimes in upper secondary school.

In the sentence mit der Hausarbeit, it probably refers to a term paper / written assignment, not simple daily homework.

Is the word order mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fixed, or can I move these phrases around?

You can move them around quite freely. Some natural variants:

• Wir wollen mit der Hausarbeit bis zur Deadline fertig sein.
• Wir wollen bis zur Deadline mit der Hausarbeit fertig sein.
• Wir wollen bis zur Deadline fertig sein mit der Hausarbeit. (less common, but possible)

All keep the basic rule: the conjugated verb (wollen) is in second position, and fertig sein goes to the end as the infinitive phrase. The order of the two prepositional phrases (mit der Hausarbeit, bis zur Deadline) is flexible and mostly a matter of emphasis and style.