German infinitives can seem pretty easy, but there are a whole range of ways to use them that you might not know about yet. This post will teach you five essential uses of the German infinitive, but first, let\u2019s take a peek at three things you’ll need to know.<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What You Should Know About German Infinitives<\/h2>\nAlmost all of them end in -en.<\/em><\/h3>\nAs mentioned above, German infinitives have the same ending: -en<\/em><\/strong>. Some examples are tanzen<\/em> (to dance), gehen <\/em>(to go) and bleiben <\/em>(to stay). If you see a non-capitalized word that ends in -en<\/em>, chances are you’ve come across an infinitive verb.<\/p>\nSome of them end in -eln,<\/em>\u00a0-ern <\/em>or -ein.\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\nAll right, it’s German, so it can’t be completely simple, right? A small number of German infinitives end in –eln<\/strong>,<\/em>\u00a0-ern <\/em><\/strong>or –ein<\/em><\/strong>. Examples include wandern<\/em>\u00a0(to wander\/walk) and, one of the most important German verbs, sein<\/em>\u00a0(to be<\/a>).<\/p>\nThey can be a verb or a noun.<\/h3>\n
You know how in English, you can use the word “run” as a verb or a noun? “I want to run” and “I want to go on a run”? German is the same. You can transform German infinitives into nouns by capitalizing them (remember, German nouns<\/a> are always capitalized).<\/p>\nAll of these words are neuter and therefore take das <\/strong><\/em>as an article<\/a>. (No long lists of definite articles to memorize here!)<\/p>\n5\u00a0Uses of the German Infinitive<\/h2>\n1. Infinitive with Modal Verbs<\/h3>\n
The infinitive with a modal verb<\/a> is the equivalent of saying “I can go” or “I should study” in English. This construction involves a conjugated modal verb plus the infinitive form of a second verb.<\/p>\nThe modal verbs in German are:<\/p>\n
\n- d\u00fcrfen<\/strong> <\/em>(to be allowed to\/may)<\/li>\n
- k\u00f6nnen<\/strong><\/em> (to be able to\/can)<\/li>\n
- m\u00fcssen<\/strong> <\/em>(to have to\/must)<\/li>\n
- sollen<\/strong> <\/em>(to be supposed to\/should)<\/li>\n
- wollen<\/strong> <\/em>(to want to)<\/li>\n
- m\u00f6gen<\/strong><\/em> (to like to).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here are some example sentences that use modal verbs with the infinitive:<\/p>\n
Ich will<\/strong> nach Berlin ziehen<\/strong>.<\/em> (I want to move<\/strong> to Berlin.)<\/p>\nDie Kinder m\u00fcssen<\/strong> ihre Hausaufgaben machen<\/strong>. <\/em>(The children have to do<\/strong> their homework.)<\/p>\nSie sollten<\/strong> die Tickets sofort kaufen!<\/strong><\/em> (They should buy<\/strong> the tickets straight away!)\u00a0<\/p>\n2. Infinitive as a Noun<\/h3>\n
Unlike English, German has no present continuous form (when verbs have the -ing ending: to swim \u2192 swimming). This form has many uses in English, from describing things that are happening right now (I am dancing<\/strong>), to referring the idea of the action in a general sense. (Smoking<\/strong> is banned.)<\/p>\nSo what do we do in German? Well, German loves its nouns, so just turn that verb into one! By just putting a capital letter on the infinitive you create a “nominalized infinitive”: rauchen<\/em> \u2192 das <\/em>Rauchen<\/em>. We can then refer to the action in a general sense:<\/p>\nRauchen t\u00f6tet.<\/em><\/em>(Smoking kills.)<\/p>\nThese forms are luckily always neuter, so you’ll use the neuter definite article das\u00a0<\/em>before them, where needed:<\/p>\nDas Wandern<\/strong> ist in Deutschland sehr beliebt. <\/em>(Hiking is very popular in Germany.)<\/p>\nMein Vater hat mir\u00a0das Schwimmen\u00a0<\/strong>beigebracht.<\/em> (My father taught me to swim<\/strong>.)\u00a0<\/p>\nThese transfigured verbs are immensely useful, often paired with prepositions like zu <\/em>to explain the method, purpose or result of an action. eg:<\/p>\nIch h\u00f6re Musik zum Einschlafen<\/strong>.(<\/em>I listen to music to fall asleep<\/strong>.)<\/p>\nOr bei<\/em> to refer to something happening at the same time (whilst\/during):<\/p>\nIch h\u00f6re Musik beim Lesen<\/strong>.<\/em>(I listen to music whilst reading<\/strong>.)<\/p>\nSo if you’re trying to describe an action alongside another verb and getting tangled in knots with where and how to place your action words, a capitalized noun is usually the answer:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kannst du bitte mit dem Fotografieren<\/strong> aufh\u00f6ren?<\/em>\u00a0(Can you please stop taking pictures?)\u00a0<\/p>\nYou can see these different usages of the infinitive in action with FluentU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<\/p>\r\n
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n
As mentioned above, German infinitives have the same ending: -en<\/em><\/strong>. Some examples are tanzen<\/em> (to dance), gehen <\/em>(to go) and bleiben <\/em>(to stay). If you see a non-capitalized word that ends in -en<\/em>, chances are you’ve come across an infinitive verb.<\/p>\n All right, it’s German, so it can’t be completely simple, right? A small number of German infinitives end in –eln<\/strong>,<\/em>\u00a0-ern <\/em><\/strong>or –ein<\/em><\/strong>. Examples include wandern<\/em>\u00a0(to wander\/walk) and, one of the most important German verbs, sein<\/em>\u00a0(to be<\/a>).<\/p>\n You know how in English, you can use the word “run” as a verb or a noun? “I want to run” and “I want to go on a run”? German is the same. You can transform German infinitives into nouns by capitalizing them (remember, German nouns<\/a> are always capitalized).<\/p>\n All of these words are neuter and therefore take das <\/strong><\/em>as an article<\/a>. (No long lists of definite articles to memorize here!)<\/p>\n The infinitive with a modal verb<\/a> is the equivalent of saying “I can go” or “I should study” in English. This construction involves a conjugated modal verb plus the infinitive form of a second verb.<\/p>\n The modal verbs in German are:<\/p>\n Here are some example sentences that use modal verbs with the infinitive:<\/p>\n Ich will<\/strong> nach Berlin ziehen<\/strong>.<\/em> (I want to move<\/strong> to Berlin.)<\/p>\n Die Kinder m\u00fcssen<\/strong> ihre Hausaufgaben machen<\/strong>. <\/em>(The children have to do<\/strong> their homework.)<\/p>\n Sie sollten<\/strong> die Tickets sofort kaufen!<\/strong><\/em> (They should buy<\/strong> the tickets straight away!)\u00a0<\/p>\n Unlike English, German has no present continuous form (when verbs have the -ing ending: to swim \u2192 swimming). This form has many uses in English, from describing things that are happening right now (I am dancing<\/strong>), to referring the idea of the action in a general sense. (Smoking<\/strong> is banned.)<\/p>\n So what do we do in German? Well, German loves its nouns, so just turn that verb into one! By just putting a capital letter on the infinitive you create a “nominalized infinitive”: rauchen<\/em> \u2192 das <\/em>Rauchen<\/em>. We can then refer to the action in a general sense:<\/p>\n Rauchen t\u00f6tet.<\/em><\/em>(Smoking kills.)<\/p>\n These forms are luckily always neuter, so you’ll use the neuter definite article das\u00a0<\/em>before them, where needed:<\/p>\n Das Wandern<\/strong> ist in Deutschland sehr beliebt. <\/em>(Hiking is very popular in Germany.)<\/p>\n Mein Vater hat mir\u00a0das Schwimmen\u00a0<\/strong>beigebracht.<\/em> (My father taught me to swim<\/strong>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n These transfigured verbs are immensely useful, often paired with prepositions like zu <\/em>to explain the method, purpose or result of an action. eg:<\/p>\n Ich h\u00f6re Musik zum Einschlafen<\/strong>.(<\/em>I listen to music to fall asleep<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n Or bei<\/em> to refer to something happening at the same time (whilst\/during):<\/p>\n Ich h\u00f6re Musik beim Lesen<\/strong>.<\/em>(I listen to music whilst reading<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n So if you’re trying to describe an action alongside another verb and getting tangled in knots with where and how to place your action words, a capitalized noun is usually the answer:\u00a0<\/p>\n Kannst du bitte mit dem Fotografieren<\/strong> aufh\u00f6ren?<\/em>\u00a0(Can you please stop taking pictures?)\u00a0<\/p>\n You can see these different usages of the infinitive in action with FluentU.\u00a0<\/p>\n FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\nSome of them end in -eln,<\/em>\u00a0-ern <\/em>or -ein.\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n
They can be a verb or a noun.<\/h3>\n
5\u00a0Uses of the German Infinitive<\/h2>\n
1. Infinitive with Modal Verbs<\/h3>\n
\n
2. Infinitive as a Noun<\/h3>\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/NativeAd-German.jpg\")
\r\n