Infinitive Clauses with 'zu'

German infinitive clauses with zu let you attach a second action without repeating the subject or building a full dass-clause. Whenever the main clause already makes it clear who performs the action—either the subject (Ich hoffe, dich bald zu sehen — I hope to see you soon) or an object (Ich bitte dich, mir zu helfen — I am asking you to help me)—an infinitive clause sounds cleaner and more natural than a finite subordinate clause.

For learners transitioning from A2 to B1, infinitive clauses unlock smoother sentences for intentions, plans, goals, and warnings. Once you learn where zu sits inside the verb and which verbs reject zu altogether, the structure follows strict, predictable word order.

Structure and Word Order

In an infinitive clause, the zu + Infinitiv cluster always moves to the absolute end of the clause. Everything that belongs to that action—objects, adverbs, or prepositional phrases—comes before zu + infinitive.

Notice how separable verbs behave differently from inseparable ones. When a verb begins with a stressed separable prefix like ab-, ein-, auf-, or mit- (for example abschließen — to lock, or einkaufen — to shop), zu embeds directly between the prefix and the verb stem, forming a single written word:

• Er hat vergessen, die Tür (die Tür, f.) abzuschließen. — He forgot to lock the door.
• Wir hoffen, morgen einzukaufen. — We hope to go shopping tomorrow.
• Es ist wichtig, früh aufzustehen. — It is important to get up early.

By contrast, inseparable prefixes such as be-, er-, ver-, and ent- never split from their stem, so zu stays separate in front of the verb (zu bezahlen, zu erklären, zu vergessen). See Separable & Inseparable Prefix Verbs for the complete prefix breakdown.

Comma Rules for Infinitive Clauses

Under standard German spelling rules, you must place a comma around an infinitive clause when:

1. It is introduced by um, ohne, anstatt, statt, or außer.
2. It depends on a noun (die Hoffnung, bald eine Wohnung zu finden — die Hoffnung, hope) or a demonstrative/correlative word like es or daran (Ich freue mich darauf, dich zu sehen).

In other expanded infinitive clauses (Ich versuche, pünktlich zu sein), a comma makes the boundary between clauses easy to read and is standard practice in B1–C1 writing.

Three Special Infinitival Conjunctions

Beyond simple verb complements, German uses three high-frequency conjunction pairs that frame an infinitive clause at the end:

1. um … zu (in order to / for the purpose of)

Use um … zu when the subject of the main clause and the person pursuing the goal are the same:

• Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Berlin zu arbeiten. — I am learning German in order to work in Berlin.
• Sie spart Geld, um sich ein neues Auto (das Auto) zu kaufen. — She is saving money in order to buy a new car.

If the two clauses have different subjects (for example, I speak slowly so that you understand), um … zu is impossible—switch to damit + conjugated verb at the end. See Purpose, Reason & Result Clauses for the full comparison.

2. ohne … zu (without doing)

Use ohne … zu when the main subject skips an expected action:

• Er ging, ohne ein Wort (das Wort) zu sagen. — He left without saying a word.
• Sie unterschrieb den Vertrag (der Vertrag), ohne ihn zu lesen. — She signed the contract without reading it.

3. anstatt … zu / statt … zu (instead of doing)

Use anstatt … zu (or the shorter statt … zu) to contrast what actually happened with an alternative:

• Er schaut fern, anstatt seine Hausaufgaben (die Hausaufgabe, pl.) zu machen. — He watches TV instead of doing his homework.
• Wir nahmen den Zug (der Zug), statt zu fliegen. — We took the train instead of flying.

When a different subject is involved with without or instead of, German switches to ohne dass or anstatt dass + conjugated verb at the end.

When NOT to Use ‘zu’

Many high-frequency German verbs connect directly to a bare infinitive without zu. Adding zu here is one of the fastest giveaways of an English-to-German literal translation.

Check The 6 Modal Verbs if you want to review how modals lock the bare infinitive to the end of the clause.

The Important Exception: brauchen

When brauchen (to need) is paired with nicht or nur to mean don’t have to or only need to, it behaves almost like a negated modal—yet in standard written German it keeps zu:

• Du brauchst heute nicht zu kommen. — You don’t need to come today.
• Sie brauchen nur das Formular (das Formular) auszufüllen. — You only need to fill out the form.

In casual everyday speech, Germans often drop zu after brauchen (Du brauchst nicht kommen), which even sparked the old school rhyme “Wer brauchen ohne zu gebraucht, braucht brauchen gar nicht zu gebrauchen.” For exams and formal writing, always keep zu with brauchen.

Common Mistakes (Wrong vs. Right)

If you remember two quick checks—Does the first verb ban zu? and Is the second verb separable?—you will build accurate B1 infinitive clauses every time.