Breakdown of Wir verschieben die Verabredung auf Samstag, damit wir genug Zeit füreinander haben.
Questions & Answers about Wir verschieben die Verabredung auf Samstag, damit wir genug Zeit füreinander haben.
With verschieben, the normal preposition is auf + accusative to say what new time you move something to.
- etwas auf Samstag / auf nächste Woche verschieben
= move/postpone something to Saturday / to next week
Bis means until, i.e. up to a limit in time, not to a new scheduled time:
- Wir arbeiten bis Samstag. – We work until Saturday.
- Wir verschieben die Verabredung bis Samstag. sounds like “We postpone it until Saturday (and then it ends)” and is not idiomatic for changing the date.
So you almost always say etwas auf einen Tag / eine Uhrzeit verschieben.
Verabredung means an arranged meeting, usually in a private or social context.
- With friends:
Ich habe eine Verabredung mit Anna. – I’ve arranged to meet Anna. - Romantic context:
Ich habe heute Abend eine Verabredung. – I have a date tonight.
Compare:
- Termin – an appointment, often official or business-like
ein Arzttermin, ein Besprechungstermin - Treffen – a meeting/get-together (neutral, can be casual or formal)
ein Treffen mit Freunden
In this sentence, die Verabredung is most naturally a social or possibly romantic meeting, not a doctor’s appointment.
When talking about days of the week as time expressions, German often omits the article:
- am Samstag = an dem Samstag (the article is hidden inside am)
- auf Samstag verschieben – move it to Saturday
You could theoretically say auf den Samstag, but in modern everyday German, with days of the week in this construction, people normally drop the article and just say:
- etwas auf Montag / Dienstag / Samstag verschieben
So auf Samstag is the idiomatic, standard choice here.
Damit introduces a subordinate clause (a dependent clause of purpose: “so that …”).
In German, every subordinate clause is separated from the main clause by a comma. So you get:
Wir verschieben die Verabredung auf Samstag,
main clausedamit wir genug Zeit füreinander haben.
subordinate clause (purpose)
Hence the required comma before damit.
Here damit means so that / in order that and introduces a purpose clause:
- … damit wir genug Zeit füreinander haben.
“… so that we have enough time for each other.”
Key points:
damit + finite clause (with a full subject + verb):
- Wir verschieben die Verabredung, damit wir genug Zeit haben.
um ... zu + infinitive (no extra subject; subject must be the same as in the main clause):
- Wir verschieben die Verabredung, um genug Zeit zu haben.
In this sentence the subject is wir in both parts, so you could say:
- Wir verschieben die Verabredung auf Samstag, um genug Zeit füreinander zu haben.
Difference:
- damit sounds slightly more “sentence-like” / neutral;
- um ... zu is a bit more compact and often used in writing.
You must use damit if the subjects are different:
- Ich rufe dich an, damit du Bescheid weißt.
(not: um du Bescheid zu wissen – that’s wrong)
Because damit introduces a subordinate clause, and in subordinate clauses the conjugated verb normally goes to the end of the clause.
Structure:
- wir – subject
- genug Zeit füreinander – objects/complements
- haben – conjugated verb at the end
So:
- Main clause: Wir haben genug Zeit. (verb in 2nd position)
- Subordinate: … damit wir genug Zeit haben. (verb final)
If you said damit wir haben genug Zeit, it would be wrong word order in German.
Füreinander literally means for each other.
- Zeit füreinander haben – to have time for each other
(to spend time focused on one another)
Compare:
- miteinander – with each other / together
- Wir sprechen miteinander. – We talk with each other.
- gegenseitig – mutual / mutually
- Sie helfen sich gegenseitig. – They help each other (mutually).
So:
- Zeit füreinander – the time is for the other person
- etwas miteinander tun – you do something together
- sich gegenseitig helfen – you help each other in both directions
In the given sentence, füreinander is the natural choice because it’s about dedicating time for one another.
In modern standard spelling, füreinander is written as one word. It’s a compound of the preposition für and the reciprocal pronoun einander.
You will see similar forms:
- miteinander (mit + einander) – with each other
- ohneinander (ohne + einander) – without each other
You may occasionally see für einander in older texts, but the recommended, up‑to‑date spelling is füreinander as one word.
Here Samstag is already part of the phrase governed by auf:
- auf Samstag – to Saturday
You don’t stack another preposition like am in there; that would be like saying “to on Saturday”.
So:
- Wir treffen uns am Samstag. – We meet on Saturday.
- Wir verschieben das Treffen auf Samstag. – We move the meeting to Saturday.
Different prepositions, different constructions, and you only use one at a time.
Two reasons:
auf + Akkusativ (here: time / direction)
With verschieben, auf takes the accusative and expresses a movement towards a new point in time:- die Verabredung auf Samstag / auf nächsten Montag verschieben
Whenever auf indicates a direction or a change to a new point in time/space, it normally uses the accusative.
für always takes the accusative
The preposition für is always followed by the accusative:- für mich, für dich, für uns
- füreinander (for each other) – internally that’s also accusative.
Both exist, but they’re used a bit differently.
genug Zeit (adverb genug before the noun) is the standard, neutral way:
- Wir haben genug Zeit. – We have enough time.
Zeit genug is possible, but it sounds more emphatic or stylistic:
- Wir haben Zeit genug. – We have plenty of time / time enough.
In your sentence, damit wir genug Zeit füreinander haben is the most natural and neutral phrasing.