Grammar Explanations4

E I N H E I T 44Planet Germany 4.1 Infinitives with zu (Infinitive mit zu) 4.2 Present Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II, Prsens) 4.3 Present and Simple Past Tenses of Modal Verbs (Prsens und Prteritum von

Modalverben)

4.4 Bekommen versus werden (Bekommen versus werden) 4.5 Infinitives without zu (Infinitive ohne zu)

4.1 Infinitives with zu (Infinitive mit zu)The infinitive with zu is comparable to English to + VERB or VERB + -ing.

MeaningAn infinitive with zu is commonly used after the following expressions and verbs:

Expressions:

Es ist richtig/falsch, It is right/wrong . . .

Es ist leicht/einfach/schwierig/schwer, It is easy/simple/difficult/hard . . .

Es ist (nicht) notwendig/(un)ntig, It is (un)necessary . . .

Er ist erlaubt/verboten, . . . -ing is allowed/prohibited

Es ist gut/schlecht, It is good/bad . . .

Es ist zu spt/zu frh, It is too late/too early . . .

Es ist wichtig/unwichtig, It is important/not important . . .

Es ist mglich/unmglich, It is possible/impossible . . .

Es macht mir (keinen) Spa, It is (no) fun for me . . .

Es ist langweilig, It is boring . . .

Es ist gefhrlich, It is dangerous . . .

Es ist interessant/uninteressant, It is interesting/not interesting . . .

Es ist lustig/traurig, It is funny/sad . . .

Es ist furchtbar/schrecklich, It is terrible/horrible . . .

Es ist (nicht) schn, It is (not) nice . . .

Es ist angenehm/unangenehm, It is pleasant/unpleasant . . .

Es ist verstndlich/unverstndlich, It is (in)comprehensible . . .

Copyright

Houghton M

ifflin Com

pany. A

ll rights reserved.

346 Anders gedacht: Grammar Explanations

AnsersGE_04 (346-354).qxd 8/12/05 1:38 PM Page 346

347

Cop

yrig

ht

Hou

ghto

n M

ifflin

Com

pan

y. A

ll rig

hts

rese

rved

.

Einheit 4

Ich finde es (nicht) schn, I (dont) think it is nice . . .

Ich liebe/hasse es, I love/hate . . .

Es freut mich, I am happy . . .

Ich habe die Absicht I have the intention . . .

Ich habe die Gelegenheit I have the opportunity . . .

Ich habe die Hoffnung I have the hope . . .

Ich habe Lust I feel like . . . -ing . . .

Ich habe den Wunsch I wish . . .

Ich habe (keine) Zeit I (dont) have time . . .

Ich habe die Erlaubnis I have permission . . .

Ich habe Probleme I have problems . . . -ing

Ich habe Angst I am afraid . . .

Ich freue mich darauf, I am looking forward to . . . -ing

Ich bitte dich darum, I am asking you . . .

Verbs:

anbieten to offer

anfangen to begin, to start

aufhren to stop

beabsichtigen to intend

befehlen to order

beginnen to begin, start

beschlieen to decide

bitten to request

empfehlen to recommend

entscheiden to decide

erlauben to allow, permit

erwarten to expect

fortfahren to continue

hoffen to hope

raten to advise

scheinen to seem

berzeugen to convince

verbieten to forbid, prohibit

vergessen to forget

verlangen to demand

vermuten = annehmen to assume, suppose, suspect

versprechen to promise

versuchen to try

vorhaben to intend

vorschlagen to suggest

wnschen to wish

zwingen to force


Copyright

Houghton M

ifflin Com

pany. A

ll rights reserved.


Examples1. 1947 schlug G.C. Marshall vor, Europa

finanziell zu helfen, da es durch den Krieg stark zerstrt war.

2. 1949 begannen die USA[,] Deutschland im Rahmen des Marshallplans finanziellzu untersttzen.

3. Es war wichtig, eine starke Wirtschaft inEuropa aufzubauen.

4. Sie hofften[,] die deutsche Wirtschaft stimulieren zu knnen.

In 1947 G. C. Marshall suggested helpingEurope financially, since it had suffered severedestruction in the war.

In 1949 the U.S. began supporting Germanyfinancially within the framework of theMarshall Plan.

It was important to establish a strong economy in Europe.

They hoped to be able to stimulate the Germaneconomy.

ExplanationThe construction zu + INFINITIVE is used if a main clause includes two verbs. It is dependentupon the expressions using Es ist ... listed above, the other expressions listed above, the verbslisted above, and haben and verbs with prepositional complements.

Infinitive constructions do not have their own subject; they refer to the person or object intro-duced in the main clause. Therefore the verb in the infinitive construction is not conjugated.

Unlike English, zu + INFINITIVE is located at the end of the clause.

1. zu is located before the infinitive, which is in final position.

2. zu is placed before the infinitive if the infinitive is a verb with an inseparable prefix.

3. If the infinitive is a separable prefix verb, zu is positioned between the prefix and the baseverb.

4. If the sentence includes a double infinitive, zu is placed between the two infinitives.

Note: After expressions with anticipatory es and da-compounds, the infinitive clause must beset off from the main clause by a comma (Example 3). Otherwise the comma is optional, but itshould be used if it makes the sentence more comprehensible (Example 1).

4.2 Present Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II, Prsens) The subjunctive II is used primarily to talk about unreal situations.

Forms

Regular verbs: lachen

ich lachte wir lachten

du lachtest ihr lachtet

er/sie/es/man lachte sie/Sie lachten


349

Cop

yrig

ht

Hou

ghto

n M

ifflin

Com

pan

y. A

ll rig

hts

rese

rved

.

Einheit 4

Irregular verbs without -te in the simple past:

kommen

ich kme wir kmen

du km(e)st ihr km(e)t

er/sie/es/man kme sie/Sie kmen

Irregular verbs with -te in the simple past:

denken, bringen, mgen, wissen1

ich dchte wir dchten

du dchtest ihr dchtet

er/sie/es/man dchte sie/Sie dchten

4. haben

ich htte wir htten

du httest ihr httet

er/sie/es/man htte sie/Sie htten

5. sein

ich wre wir wren

du wr(e)st ihr wr(e)t

er/sie/es/man wre sie/Sie wren

6. werden

ich wrde wir wrden

du wrdest ihr wrdet

er/sie/es/man wrde sie/Sie wrden

7. knnen, mssen, drfen

ich knnte wir knnten

du knntest ihr knntet

er/sie/es/man knnte sie/Sie knnten

1Note: The irregular verbs (with -te in the simple past) brennen, kennen, nennen, rennen, senden, and wendenform the subjunctive II like regular verbs: brennte, kennte, nennte, rennte, sendete, and wendete. These forms are,however, very rarely used.


8. wollen, sollen (no umlaut)

ich wollte wir wollten

du wolltest ihr wolltet

er/sie/es/man wollte sie/Sie wollten

Examples

Copyright

Houghton M

ifflin Com

pany. A

ll rights reserved.


1. Wenn ich in Deutschland lebte, wremein Leben ganz anders.

2. Wenn ich in Deutschland leben wrde,wre mein Leben ganz anders.

If I lived in Germany my life would be very different.

If I lived in Germany my life would be very different.

ExplanationThere are two ways of expressing the meaning of the subjunctive II:

the subjunctive II form of a verb the wrde + INFINITIVE construction

1. The subjunctive II form of a verb is formed by adding the following endings to the simplepast stem, e.g., lacht-, kam-, or dacht-.

Singular Plural

ich -e wir -en

du -est ihr -et

er/sie/es/man -e sie/Sie -en

The subjunctive II forms of regular verbs are thus the same as their simple past forms.Note, however, that for certain irregular verbs, an umlaut is added in the subjunctive II ifthe simple past stem vowel is a, o, or u. This applies to:

verbs without -te in the simple past (e.g., kommen kam, fahren fuhr) the modal verbs knnen, mssen, drfen the verbs denken, bringen, mgen, wissen the verbs haben, sein, and werdenThe subjunctive II forms of most verbs are used only in writing. Only the subjunctive IIforms of haben, sein, werden, the modal verbs and the verbs bleiben, brauchen, geben,gehen, kommen, lassen, nehmen, and wissen are used in both writing and in oral con-versation. The subjunctive II forms of the modal verbs and of haben, sein, and werden arepreferred over the wrde + INFINITIVE forms even in oral German.

2. In oral conversation, the subjunctive II forms are replaced by the wrde + INFINITIVEconstruction. This construction is formed by placing the conjugated form of wrde in second position and the infinitive of the main verb in final position. In dependent clauses,the form of wrde is in final position after the infinitive.


351

Cop

yrig

ht

Hou

ghto

n M

ifflin

Com

pan

y. A

ll rig

hts

rese

rved

.

Einheit 4

Subjunctive II is used in the following five situations:

hypothetical conditionsWenn ich in Deutschland leben wrde,wre mein Leben ganz anders.

wishesWrde ich (doch) in der Schweiz leben!

adviceDu solltest nach dem Essen nicht schwimmen gehen.

polite requests Knnten Sie bitte die Musik etwas leiserdrehen?

after als (ob) or als (wenn)Er tut (so), als ob/wenn er allein im Haus wre.

Er tut (so), als wre er allein im Haus.

If I lived in Germany, my life would be very different.

If only I lived in Switzerland!

You shouldnt go swimming after a meal.

Could you please turn down the music a bit?

He acts as if he were all by himself in the house.

He acts as if he were all by himself in the house.

4.3 Present and Simple Past Tenses of Modal Verbs(Prsens und Prteritum von Modalverben)

Meaningdrfen to be allowed to

knnen to be able to

mchten would like to

mssen to have to

sollen to be supposed to

wollen to want to

Forms

PRESENT TENSEdrfen knnen mchten1 mssen sollen wollen

darf

darfstdarf

drfendrftdrfen

kann

kannstkann

knnenknntknnen

mchtemchtestmchte

mchtenmchtetmchten

muss

musstmuss

mssenmsstmssen

soll

sollstsoll

sollensolltsollen

will

willstwill

wollenwolltwollen

ichdu

er/sie/es/man

wirihr

sie/Sie

1The verb form mchten is historically derived from the subjunctive II form of the verb mgen; however, in modernGerman mchten is used as a present tense modal verb unto itself.


SIMPLE PAST TENSEdrfen knnen mchten1 mssen sollen wollen

Copyright

Houghton M

ifflin Com

pany. A

ll rights reserved.


ichdu

er/sie/es/man

wirihr

sie/Sie

durfte

durftest

durfte

durften

durftet

durften

konnte

konntest

konnte

konnten

konntet

konnten

wolltewolltestwollte

wolltenwolltetwollten

musste

musstest

musste

mussten

musstet

mussten

sollte

solltest

sollte

sollten

solltet

sollten

wollte

wolltest

wollte

wollten

wolltet

wollten

Examples

1The modal verb mchten dos not have its own simple past form. The simple past form of wollen is used instead.

1. Aziza-A will mit ihrem Lied kritisieren.

2. Was drfen islamische Frauen nicht(machen)?

3. Aziza-A erzhlt, dass ihr Vater sie nichtverstehen kann.

Aziza-A wants to criticize with her song.

What are Islamic women not allowed (to do)?

Aziza-A says that her father cannot understand her.

Explanation1. A modal verb (which is in second position) almost always has a corresponding infinitive in

final position.

2. If the meaning of a sentence is comprehensible from the context, the infinitive can be leftout.

3. In dependent clauses, the conjugated modal verb moves to final position.

4.4 Bekommen versus werden (Bekommen versus werden)Meaning

bekommen to receive, get, obtain

werden to become, get, turn, turn into

Examples1. Ich habe zum Geburtstag schne

Geschenke bekommen.

In Deutsch bekomme ich sicher in diesem Semester ein A!

For my birthday I got nice presents.

I am sure Ill get an A in German this semester.


353

Cop

yrig

ht

Hou

ghto

n M

ifflin

Com

pan

y. A

ll rig

hts

rese

rved

.

Einheit 4

Es ist nicht leicht, die deutscheStaatsangehrigkeit zu bekommen.

2. Meine kleine Schwester mchte rztinwerden.

Mchten Sie deutscher Staatsbrger werden?

Aua, mein Hals tut weh, ich glaube, ich werde krank.

Its not easy to obtain German citizenship.

My little sister would like to become a doctor.

Would you like to become a German citizen?

Ouch, my throat is hurting, I think Im getting sick.

Explanation1. The verb bekommen is used to express the notion of receiving physical or abstract things

(e.g., gifts, grades, punishment, citizenship, answers). It is also used to express physical ormental change in combination with nouns, e.g., fear, sunburn, or a headache.

2. The verb werden is used to express what someone wants to do for a living, to expresschange of state (e.g., cold, hot, rainy) or status (e.g., citizenship or membership), or toexpress physical or mental change in combination with adjectives (e.g., old, sick, fat).

4.5 Infinitives without zu (Infinitive ohne zu)Meaning

Infinitives used with the modal verbs drfen, knnen, mchten, mssen, sollen, and wollenare used without zu. (For the meaning of modal verbs, see Section 4.3.) Infinitives used withthe following verbs are also used without zu:

a. bleiben to stay

b. fahren to drive

c. fhlen to feel

d. gehen to go

e. hren to hear

f. kommen to come

g. lassen to have/let someone do something

h. legen to lay down

i. schicken to send

j. sehen to see, watch

k. spren to feel, sense

Infinitives that are used with the following verbs can be used with or without zu:

l. brauchen to need (to)

m. helfen to help

n. lehren to teach

o. lernen to learn


ExamplesC

opyright H

oughton Mifflin C

omp

any. All rights reserved.


1. Kaminer geht seinen Freund Helmutbesuchen.

2. Kaminers Vater mchte den Sprachtestbestehen.

3. Helmut hilft ihm lernen.

4. Helmut hilft ihm fr den Test (zu) lernen.

Kaminer goes to visit his friend Helmut.

Kaminers father would like to pass the language exam.

Helmut is helping him study.

Helmut is helping him study for the exam.

Explanation1. The verbs a. k. use the infinitive without zu.

2. Modal verbs never use an infinitive with zu.

3. The verbs l. o. use the infinitive with or without zu.

When followed by a simple infinitive, the verbs helfen, lehren, and lernen do not usezu. In colloquial speech, brauchen is often used without zu.

4. Usage varies for helfen, lehren, and lernen when a verbal complement is added. In thiscase, it is acceptable to use zu or to omit it. In written German, brauchen is usually usedwith zu.


Documents

Grammar Explanations4