Breakdown of Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
Questions & Answers about Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
Because dass is a subordinating conjunction in German.
In a dass-clause, the conjugated verb moves to the final position:
- Main clause: Ich hoffe … (verb in 2nd position)
- Subordinate clause with dass: dass wir die Prüfung schaffen
- Subject: wir
- Object: die Prüfung
- Verb (conjugated): schaffen (at the end)
This verb-final word order is standard for most subordinate clauses in German.
dass introduces a subordinate clause that functions like a noun clause (it’s the thing you hope for).
- Whole structure: Ich hoffe, [dass wir die Prüfung schaffen].
→ I hope [that we pass the exam].
In spoken German, you will often hear:
- Ich hoffe, wir schaffen die Prüfung.
This is grammatically acceptable and quite common. The second clause then has normal main-clause word order (wir schaffen die Prüfung) and is just joined with a comma, without dass.
Using dass is slightly more explicit and is always correct; omitting it is more conversational.
They sound the same but have different functions and spellings:
dass (with double s) = conjunction meaning that, introduces a clause:
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
das (with one s) can be:
- the neuter article the: das Buch (the book)
- a demonstrative pronoun: Das ist gut. (That is good)
- a relative pronoun in some contexts: Das Buch, das ich lese…
Rule of thumb:
If you can replace it with this/that/which in English (referring to a thing), use das.
If you can replace it with in that / that starting a clause like I think that…, it’s usually dass.
In German, every finite subordinate clause is separated by a comma from the main clause.
- Main clause: Ich hoffe
- Subordinate clause: dass wir die Prüfung schaffen
The comma must be there:
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
Leaving the comma out is considered a spelling mistake in standard written German.
German often uses the present tense for future events when the time is clear from context:
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
Literally: I hope that we pass the exam.
Meaning: I hope we will pass the exam (when we take it / get the result).
Using Future I (werden schaffen) would usually sound too heavy or unnatural here:
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen werden. — Possible but rarely needed; sounds more formal or emphatic than necessary.
So present tense is the normal, natural choice.
schaffen has a few different meanings depending on context:
to manage / to succeed in doing something
- Wir schaffen die Prüfung. → We will manage/pass the exam.
- Ich schaffe das schon. → I’ll manage that.
to pass (an exam, test) (informal/colloquial use)
- die Prüfung schaffen → to pass the exam
to create (in a more literary or formal sense; preterite: schuf)
- Gott schuf die Welt. → God created the world.
In Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen, meaning 1+2 applies: to manage / to pass the exam, not to create it.
Yes.
- die Prüfung bestehen is the more neutral/standard way to say to pass the exam.
- die Prüfung schaffen is very common in spoken, informal German and also means to pass the exam.
Both are correct here:
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung bestehen.
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
Prüfung (exam/test) is a feminine noun in German:
- singular: die Prüfung
- plural: die Prüfungen
In the sentence, die Prüfung is the direct object of schaffen:
- Verb: schaffen (to manage/pass something)
- Object: die Prüfung
A direct object takes the accusative case. For feminine nouns, nominative and accusative both look the same: die.
So die Prüfung here is feminine accusative singular.
No, not in standard German.
Countable nouns like Prüfung almost always need some kind of determiner (article, possessive, etc.):
- wir schaffen die Prüfung (the exam)
- wir schaffen eine Prüfung (an exam)
- wir schaffen diese Prüfung (this exam)
- wir schaffen unsere Prüfung (our exam)
wir schaffen Prüfung sounds ungrammatical or at least very wrong in normal German.
hoffe is 1st person singular, present tense of hoffen (to hope).
Present tense of hoffen:
- ich hoffe
- du hoffst
- er/sie/es hofft
- wir hoffen
- ihr hofft
- sie/Sie hoffen
So Ich hoffe = I hope.
Yes, that is also correct and natural:
- Ich hoffe, die Prüfung zu schaffen.
This uses an infinitive construction with zu instead of a dass-clause.
The meaning is practically the same as:
- Ich hoffe, dass ich die Prüfung schaffe.
Small differences:
- dass-clause: explicitly has a subject (ich, wir, etc.).
- zu-infinitive: more compact; the subject is the same as in the main clause and therefore omitted.
Your original sentence with wir would become:
- Ich hoffe, die Prüfung zu schaffen.
(The wir is understood from context; often you’d say Wir hoffen, die Prüfung zu schaffen if it’s clearly “we”.)
No, not like that.
You have two main patterns:
hoffen, dass …
- Ich hoffe, dass wir die Prüfung schaffen.
hoffen auf + Akkusativ (to hope for something)
- Ich hoffe auf eine gute Note. → I hope for a good grade.
- Wir hoffen auf das Beste. → We hope for the best.
You do not combine them as hoffen auf, dass … in normal modern German.
There is an old-fashioned auf dass structure with a different meaning (so that), but that’s rare and not what you want here.
It’s neutral and works in almost any context:
- spoken or written
- informal or semi-formal
- with friends, classmates, teachers, colleagues
If you want an even more conversational style, you might drop dass:
- Ich hoffe, wir schaffen die Prüfung.
But the original sentence is perfectly natural everywhere, including in polite or semi-formal situations.