B1 · Subordinate clauses
Indirect questions and infinitive clauses
ob, question words, and zu plus infinitive
A question inside a sentence stops being a question — and a clause with no subject of its own takes zu.
A question reported inside another sentence becomes a subordinate clause: the verb goes to the end and the question mark goes away. Wann kommt er? becomes Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt. The question word stays and does the job of a conjunction.
A yes-or-no question has no question word to reuse, so German supplies ob: Er fragt, ob wir mitkommen. Ob is "whether", never "if" in the conditional sense — confusing it with wenn produces a sentence that means something else entirely.
The other clause type here has no subject at all. When both halves share a subject, German uses an infinitive with zu at the end: Ich habe vergessen, den Brief einzuwerfen. With a separable verb the zu goes inside, between prefix and stem, and the whole thing is one word.
Die Form
| direct | Wann kommt der Zug? |
| indirect | Weißt du, wann der Zug kommt? |
| yes / no | Er fragt, ob du Zeit hast. |
| infinitive with zu | Ich habe vergessen anzurufen. |
| um ... zu | Ich rufe an, um einen Termin zu machen. |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
An indirect question is a subordinate clause: verb at the end, no question mark inside.
Ich weiß nicht, wo er wohnt.I do not know where he lives.
A yes-or-no question is introduced by ob.
Sie hat gefragt, ob wir kommen.She asked whether we were coming.
When both clauses share a subject, use an infinitive with zu instead of dass.
Ich hoffe, dich bald zu sehen.I hope to see you soon.
With a separable verb the zu goes between prefix and stem: anzurufen, aufzustehen.
Es ist Zeit aufzustehen.It is time to get up.
Genauer hingesehen
When zu is required and when it is forbidden
Most verbs that take a second verb take it with zu: versuchen, vergessen, hoffen, anfangen, aufhören, beschließen. The exceptions are a short closed list where the second verb is bare: the six modals, plus sehen, hören, lassen, gehen, kommen, bleiben, helfen, lernen.
That list is worth learning as a list rather than as a rule, and the reason is that English does not agree with German about it. English says "I want to go" with "to" and German says ich will gehen without; English says "I heard him come" without and German agrees. Nothing generalises, so it has to be memorised — but there are ten of them, not a hundred.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the verb is a modal, or sehen, hören, lassen, gehen, bleiben, helfen or lernen
the infinitive stands bare, without zu.
Ich höre ihn kommen.I hear him coming.
A closed group of verbs takes a bare infinitive, and membership is historical rather than logical.
-
the two clauses have different subjects
an infinitive with zu is impossible and dass is required.
Ich hoffe, dass du bald kommst.I hope you come soon.
An infinitive has no subject of its own, so it can only borrow the one from the main clause.
Woran man es erkennt
- ob
- wann
- wo
- wie
- warum
- zu
- um ... zu
- ohne ... zu
Beispielsätze
Können Sie mir sagen, wo der Bahnhof ist?Could you tell me where the station is?
Ich weiß nicht, ob das stimmt.I do not know whether that is right.
Er hat versprochen, morgen anzurufen.He promised to call tomorrow.
Wir sind früher gefahren, um den Stau zu vermeiden.We left earlier to avoid the traffic jam.
Sie ging, ohne etwas zu sagen.She left without saying anything.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Weißt du, wie lange das dauert?Do you know how long that takes?
Sie hat mich gefragt, ob ich Zeit hätte.She asked me whether I had time.
Ich habe vergessen, das Fenster zuzumachen.I forgot to close the window.
Es ist schwer, das zu erklären.It is difficult to explain that.
Er ging weg, ohne sich zu verabschieden.He left without saying goodbye.
Wir haben angefangen, Deutsch zu lernen.We have started learning German.
Ich weiß nicht, warum sie nicht angerufen hat.I do not know why she did not call.
Sie fuhr in die Stadt, um einzukaufen.She drove into town to do some shopping.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
um ... zu is the German "in order to"
A purpose gets <z>um ... zu</z> and not a bare <z>zu</z>: <z>Ich rufe an, um einen Termin zu machen.</z> English drops "in order" almost always, so a learner drops the <z>um</z> too — and the result is understandable but reads as unfinished. If the clause answers "what for?", it needs <z>um</z>.
Er lernt Deutsch, um in Wien zu studieren.He is learning German in order to study in Vienna.
-
ohne ... zu and anstatt ... zu work the same way
Both take an infinitive with <z>zu</z> and both need the same subject in the two halves. They are worth having early because English uses an -ing form for them and German has none: "without saying anything" has to become <z>ohne etwas zu sagen</z>.
Anstatt zu antworten, ging er weg.Instead of answering, he walked away.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Three German words share the English word "when" or "if", and they are not interchangeable. Wann asks about a time, including inside a reported question. Wenn is a condition or a repeated occasion. Ob is "whether". The wrong sentence above is grammatical and means "I do not know, if he comes" — a conditional hanging in mid-air.
wann asks a time, wenn sets a condition, ob means whether.
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