Video 2: Infinitiv mit zu & Vacation Prepositions

Source: ~2.5 hour recorded live Zoom class (second session of the B1 batch). The first ~37 minutes are pure logistics — camera/mic troubleshooting, and a full round of student self-introductions (name, origin, job/studies, hobbies, A2 background) — and are skipped below. Approximate topic timestamps:

• Course logistics, camera/mic issues, student self-introductions (00:00–37:00) — skipped, administrative/chitchat only
• Infinitiv mit zu: core rule, identifying "two main verbs," haben/sein as main vs. helping verb (37:00–59:30)
• Infinitiv mit zu: more trigger patterns (es ist + adjective, haben + noun) and the three exceptions (modal verbs, double-infinitive verbs, future with werden) (59:30–01:50:00)
• Spontaneous translation drills on Infinitiv mit zu (01:10:00–01:57:00)
• Speaking practice: describing vacation pictures with "Ich möchte gerne... Urlaub machen, weil..." (01:58:00–02:13:00)
• Fixed prepositions for vacation/place vocabulary: Strand, Meer, See, Fluss, Insel, Wald, Berg, Gebirge, Stadt, Land (02:13:00–02:24:00)
• Homework assignment (02:24:00–end) — skipped, administrative only

Topics Covered

• Infinitiv mit zu (zu + infinitive): when a sentence needs this structure, and how to build it
• Identifying whether a sentence really has "two main verbs" (the trigger condition for zu + infinitive)
• haben and sein as main verbs vs. as helping (auxiliary) verbs, and a refresher on haben/sein with Partizip II
• Article rule for professions: never use an article before a profession noun (Ich bin Student, not Ich bin ein Student)
• Three situations where zu + infinitive is not used: modal verbs, double-infinitive (trennbar-style) verbs, and future tense with werden
• Fixed prepositions for water bodies and landscape features used when talking about vacations: an, auf, in

Infinitiv mit zu (zu + Infinitive)

Core rule

Infinitiv mit zu (also called zu plus Infinitiv / zu mit Infinitiv — all the same thing) is used whenever a German sentence needs two main verbs. The infinitive is the dictionary/unconjugated form of the verb. In this structure:

• The first main verb is conjugated normally in its usual position.
• Put a comma, then the rest of the sentence.
• The second main verb goes to the end of the clause, in its infinitive form, together with zu.
• zu here is not acting as the dative preposition zu — it is just a fixed grammatical marker glued to the second verb.

Identifying trigger: if the English sentence contains the word "to" linking two actions (and it isn't a modal-verb sentence), that's usually your cue that German needs zu + infinitive.

Examples drilled in class

• Ich plane, nach Deutschland zu gehen. → I am planning to go to Germany. (planen + gehen)
• Ich helfe meiner Schwester, Deutsch zu lernen. → I am helping my sister to learn German. (helfen + lernen; note helfen is a dative verb, so "my sister" → meiner Schwester)
• Ich hoffe, die Prüfung zu bestehen. → I am hoping to pass the exam. (hoffen + bestehen)
• Ich denke daran, meinen Bruder anzurufen. → I am thinking of calling my brother. (denken + anrufen)
  • With separable (trennbar) verbs, zu is inserted in the middle, between the prefix and the verb stem: an + zu + rufen → anzurufen.
  • Case check: anrufen takes Akkusativ, so "my brother" → meinen Bruder (masculine Akk.), not meinem Bruder.

haben and sein can be main verbs too — refresher

Before extending the rule, the teacher checked whether haben/sein always count as "helping verbs" — they don't; they can be full main verbs in their own right:

• Ich habe Angst. → I am afraid / I have fear. (haben = main verb here, not a helper)
• Ich habe einen Kuli. → I have a pen. (haben = main verb)
• Ich bin Student. → I am a student. (sein = main verb)
  • ⚠️ Correction made in class: never use an article before a profession. Ich bin Student / Ich bin Studentin / Ich bin Lehrer — not Ich bin ein Student. Using the article here is simply wrong in German, even though English uses "a/an."
• Contrast with haben/sein as helping verbs in the Perfekt (with Partizip II): Ich habe das Haus gemacht. (haben = helper, main verb = machen); Ich bin um acht Uhr aufgestanden. (sein = helper, because aufstehen involves movement/change of state).
  • Quick recap of the haben-vs-sein choice for Perfekt: use sein for verbs of movement (gehen, kommen, fahren) and change of state (e.g. waking up, dying), plus a short list of exceptions (e.g. bleiben). Otherwise, default to haben — roughly 90% of verbs use haben.

More trigger patterns for Infinitiv mit zu

Once haben/sein are established as possible main verbs, the same zu + infinitive structure becomes possible in more sentence shapes:

• haben + noun + zu-infinitive:
  • Ich habe Lust, eine Pizza zu essen. → I have a desire to eat a pizza. (Lust + essen)
  • Ich habe den Wunsch, nach Deutschland zu gehen. → I have the wish to go to Germany.
  • Ich habe Zeit, ins Restaurant zu gehen. → I have time to go to the restaurant.
  • Ich habe Angst, dich anzurufen. → I have fear of calling you. (trennbar verb → zu in the middle: ansurufen → anzurufen)
• sein + adjective + zu-infinitive:
  • Es ist wichtig, jeden Tag Deutsch zu lernen. → It is important to learn German every day.
  • Es ist wichtig, Deutsch täglich zu üben/besuchen. → similar pattern with other adjectives.

The Three Exceptions: When NOT to Use zu + Infinitive

Even when the English sentence has the word "to," German does not use zu + infinitive in these three cases:

1. Modal verbs

If a modal verb (möchten, müssen, wollen, sollen, können, dürfen) is present, follow the modal verb word order instead: modal verb in second position, main verb at the end in plain infinitive (no zu).

• Ich möchte eine Pizza essen. → I would like to eat a pizza. (NOT Ich möchte, eine Pizza zu essen)
• Even though "to eat" is present in the English sentence, the modal verb rule overrides zu + infinitive entirely.

2. Double-infinitive verbs ("verb + verb" combos like trennbar verbs)

Some verb pairs (e.g. einkaufen gehen, schlafen gehen) function as a single combined verb, not two separate main verbs — they behave like a separable verb, with the "go" part in second position and the other infinitive at the end (no zu anywhere).

• Ich gehe einkaufen. → I am going shopping. (NOT Ich gehe, einzukaufen)
• Ich gehe schlafen. → I am going to sleep.
• Rule of thumb: if the two verbs together form one fixed idiomatic action (go + [verb]), treat it as one double-infinitive verb, not two main verbs — so the zu + infinitive condition ("two main verbs") doesn't apply.

3. Future tense with werden

werden used as a future auxiliary is a helping verb, not a main verb, so it never triggers zu + infinitive on its own.

• Ich werde jeden Tag Deutsch lernen. → I will learn German every day. (NOT Ich werde, jeden Tag Deutsch zu lernen)
• Ich werde spazieren gehen. → I will go for a walk. (here gehen is the main/double-infinitive verb; werden stays a pure helper)
• BUT — if a sentence has werden (future helper) plus a genuine second main verb (i.e., three verb-ideas: will + try + learn), the zu + infinitive rule comes back into play for the second pair, because werden itself doesn't count toward "two main verbs":
  • Ich werde versuchen, jeden Tag Deutsch zu lernen. → I will try to learn German every day. (werden = future helper; versuchen + lernen = the two main verbs that trigger zu lernen at the end)
  • Ich werde anfangen, täglich Deutsch zu lernen. → I will start to learn German daily. (anfangen + lernen = two main verbs)
• ⚠️ Teacher's caveat: this 3-verb combination (future + zu-infinitive) is not officially in the A2/B1 chapter-1 syllabus for this point in the course — shown as bonus/advanced context, not required.

Spontaneous translation drill highlights

• Er versucht, dieses Problem zu lösen. → He is trying to solve this problem. (versuchen + lösen)
• Wir haben uns entschieden, in den Urlaub zu gehen. → We have decided to go on vacation. (sich entscheiden + gehen; reflexive uns retained)
  • Side discussion on why in den Urlaub (Akkusativ) and not im Urlaub (Dativ): in here is a Wechsel preposition (SDMA: stationary=Dativ, movement=Akkusativ). Even though "Urlaub" (vacation) isn't a physical place you can enter, German still treats in den Urlaub gehen as a fixed movement expression and uses Akkusativ — this is essentially a fixed/idiomatic phrase to memorize rather than something to derive logically (you don't "enter" a vacation the way you enter a place, but the grammar still applies movement case).
• Sie hat vergessen, mich anzurufen. → She has forgotten to call me. (vergessen + anrufen, trennbar → anzurufen)
• Ich habe geplant, schlafen zu gehen. → I have planned to go to sleep. (Note: schlafen gehen is the double-infinitive verb acting as a single unit at the end, after zu... actually realized here as planen + the double-infinitive verb as its own block)
• Student question: Ist "lange schlafen" ein trennbares Verb? (Is "lange schlafen" a separable verb?) — Teacher's clarification: no — lange is just a normal adverb/word meaning "for a long time"; the only verb is schlafen. Not every two-word combination is a separable verb.

Vacation Speaking Practice & Fixed Prepositions for Places

Students practiced describing vacation photos using the pattern: Ich möchte gerne [Ort] Urlaub machen / fahren / gehen, weil ich ... finde.

Example sentences produced and corrected in class:

• Ich möchte nach Salzburg fahren. Die Stadt liegt im Westen von Österreich. Die Stadt ist berühmt, weil der berühmte Künstler Mozart hier geboren ist. Ich interessiere mich für Kunst, deshalb möchte ich nach Salzburg fahren. → I'd like to travel to Salzburg... because I'm interested in art/culture.
• Ich möchte gerne im Thüringer Wald gehen, weil ich hier viel Schnee sehen kann.
  • ⚠️ Word order correction: student said weil ich kann hier Schnee sehen — corrected to weil ich hier Schnee sehen kann (in a weil-clause, the conjugated verb must go to the end of the clause).
• Ich gehe im See schwimmen. / Ich gehe am See schwimmen.
  • ⚠️ Correction: student said Ich gehe in die See zu schwimmen — wrong on two counts: (1) schwimmen gehen is a double-infinitive verb, so no zu is used; (2) the case/preposition should be im See or am See (stationary, Dativ), not movement-style in die See.
• Ich kann den Urlaub von meiner hektischen Arbeit genießen. → I can enjoy the vacation away from my hectic work.

Fixed prepositions for water bodies → an

Water-body nouns introduced: der Strand (beach), das Meer (sea), der/die See (note: der See = lake, die See = sea — gender changes the meaning), der Fluss (river).

All of these use the fixed Wechsel-preposition an — Akkusativ for movement, Dativ for stationary location (SDMA: stationary = Dativ, movement = Akkusativ):

• Movement: Ich gehe an den Strand / ans Meer / an die/den See / an den Fluss.
• Stationary: Ich bin am Strand / am Meer / an der/dem See / am Fluss.

Fixed preposition for islands → auf

Die Insel (island) is feminine and always pairs with auf:

• Movement: Ich gehe auf die Insel Rügen. (Rügen is a real German island in the Baltic Sea — confirmed in class.) If you only say the place name alone without the word "Insel," you can instead just use nach: Ich gehe nach Rügen.
• Stationary: Ich bin auf der Insel Rügen.

Fixed preposition for forest/mountains → in

Der Wald (forest), der Berg (mountain), das Gebirge (mountain range) all use in:

• Movement: Ich gehe in den Wald / in den Berg / in das (ins) Gebirge.
• Stationary: Ich bin im Wald / im Berg / im Gebirge.

City vs. countryside → in (both use in, but mind the Wechsel case)

• Die Stadt (city): Ich gehe in die Stadt (movement) / Ich bin in der Stadt (stationary, "I live in the city" → Ich lebe in der Stadt).
• Das Land (countryside): Ich gehe auf das Land (movement, idiomatic fixed use of auf for "to the countryside") / Ich bin auf dem Land (stationary, "I live in the countryside" → Ich lebe auf dem Land).

🧠 Teacher's framing: build a two-column table mentally — left column = movement words (gehen, fahren, etc.) using the Akkusativ form of the fixed preposition; right column = stationary words (sein, leben, wohnen) using the Dativ form. The preposition itself (an/auf/in) is fixed per noun/place type and just needs to be memorized — the Dativ/Akkusativ choice still follows normal Wechsel-preposition (SDMA) logic.

Notes & Tips

• The "two main verbs" test is the core trigger for Infinitiv mit zu: before building the structure, always identify whether the sentence truly contains two main verbs (not counting modal verbs, double-infinitive verbs, or werden-as-future-helper).
• Translate sentence-by-sentence, not word-by-word: the teacher repeated the general B1 mindset tip from introductions — if a direct English-to-German translation doesn't work, rephrase the English sentence first (e.g., "the environment needs to be protected" → "one must/should protect the environment") rather than forcing an impossible literal translation.
• Never use an article before a profession (Ich bin Student, not Ich bin ein Student) — a small but frequently-made mistake, including during self-introductions in this very class.
• Word order inside weil-clauses: the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause, even when it feels natural in English to keep it earlier (weil ich hier Schnee sehen kann, not weil ich kann hier Schnee sehen).
• Double-infinitive verbs never take zu: watch for fixed "verb + gehen" combinations (einkaufen gehen, schlafen gehen, schwimmen gehen) — these are treated as a single separable-style verb, so adding zu is a common but incorrect over-application of the Infinitiv-mit-zu rule.
• Homework assigned: Übungsbuch — Seite 9, Übung 4 (fill in verb forms in a dialogue) and Übung 5 (build Infinitiv-mit-zu structures from given expressions); next page, Übung "D" — decide per sentence whether Infinitiv mit zu is possible or blocked by a modal verb/exception; and Seite 6, Übung 2 — pure vocabulary selection exercise (A1/A2 fixed expressions, e.g. choosing between das stimmt / das klingt), no grammar involved.
• Preview mentioned for a later chapter: the um...zu structure (used for "in order to," expressing purpose) is a related-but-different topic from Infinitiv mit zu, scheduled for Chapter 5 (often paired with damit) — flagged here only as a forward pointer, not taught in this session.