At A1 you say one thing per sentence: “Ich fahre nach Berlin.” From B1 you need to hang a second verb off the first — I'm planning to, I've forgotten to, I'm looking forward to. German does that with zu plus the infinitive, and it is the single structure that makes a written German sentence sound grown-up. It is everywhere in the writing you do at this level: an application, a note to a neighbour, explaining an idea to your team.
The basic shape
The main verb comes second as usual. The zu-part goes to the very end of the sentence, with the infinitive last of all. In longer sentences a comma before it makes the join easier to read.
Ich habe vor, nach Berlin zu fahren.
I'm planning to go to Berlin.
vorhaben triggers it; zu fahren sits at the end
Es ist wichtig, pünktlich zu sein.
It's important to be on time.
works after es ist + adjective too
Ich habe vergessen, dir zu schreiben.
I forgot to write to you.
everything else in the clause comes before zu
Ich freue mich darauf, Sie kennenzulernen.
I look forward to meeting you.
the standard closing line of a Bewerbung
Separable verbs swallow the zu
With a separable verb, zu does not stand in front — it goes between the prefix and the stem, and the whole thing is written as one word. This is the detail that most often gives a B1 writer away.
Ich habe beschlossen, früher anzufangen.
I've decided to start earlier.
anfangen → anzufangen, one word
Vergiss nicht, Brot einzukaufen.
Don't forget to buy bread.
einkaufen → einzukaufen
Es ist schwer, pünktlich aufzustehen.
It's hard to get up on time.
aufstehen → aufzustehen
Ich hoffe, Sie bald kennenzulernen.
I hope to meet you soon.
kennenlernen → kennenzulernen
The three that carry a meaning: um, ohne, statt
These turn the zu-clause into a purpose, a missing action, or a replacement. They are the ones your exercises lean on hardest, because they are how you justify anything in writing.
| Means | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| um … zu | in order to — the purpose | Ich spare, um ein Fahrrad zu kaufen. |
| ohne … zu | without doing it | Er ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden. |
| (an)statt … zu | instead of doing it | Statt eine Tüte zu kaufen, nehme ich meine mit. |
Tipp · um … zu answers “warum?” and can be tested: if “in order to” fits in English, um … zu fits in German. If you could only say “to” and not “in order to”, you probably want a plain zu-clause instead.
The rule that decides um zu against damit
um … zu has no subject of its own, so it borrows the one from the main clause. That means both halves must share a subject. If the person doing the second action is somebody else, um … zu is impossible and you need damit, which is a full clause with its own subject and a verb at the end.
Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Wien zu studieren.
I'm learning German in order to study in Vienna.
same subject — I learn, I study
Ich erkläre es langsam, damit alle mitkommen.
I explain it slowly so that everyone can follow.
different subjects — I explain, THEY follow. um zu would be wrong
Ich schreibe früh, damit du noch antworten kannst.
I'm writing early so you can still reply.
I write, YOU reply → damit
The verbs that refuse zu
A few verbs take a bare infinitive with no zu at all. The modals are the big group, and then a short list worth memorising: sehen, hören, lassen, bleiben, and the movement verbs gehen and fahren.
Ich muss jetzt gehen.
I have to go now.
all modals — never zu
Ich gehe schwimmen.
I'm going swimming.
gehen + bare infinitive
Ich höre ihn singen.
I hear him singing.
hören, sehen, spüren
Ich lasse das Auto reparieren.
I'm having the car repaired.
lassen — never zu
✗Ich habe beschlossen, früher zu anfangen.
✓Ich habe beschlossen, früher anzufangen.
anfangen is separable, so zu goes inside the word: an-zu-fangen.
✗Ich lerne Deutsch, um meine Familie kann mitkommen.
✓Ich lerne Deutsch, damit meine Familie mitkommen kann.
Different subjects. um … zu borrows the subject of the main clause, so it only works when both halves share one.
✗Ich möchte zu gehen.
✓Ich möchte gehen.
möchten is a modal, and modals take a bare infinitive — no zu, ever.
✗Ich freue mich, Sie zu kennenlernen.
✓Ich freue mich, Sie kennenzulernen.
kennenlernen is separable too, even though it looks like two verbs.
✗Er ging ohne sich verabschieden.
✓Er ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden.
ohne still needs its zu — the trio is um … zu, ohne … zu, statt … zu, never bare.
One habit worth building now: when you finish a written sentence at B1, check the last word. If the sentence hangs a second verb off the first, that last word should be an infinitive — and if that verb was separable, zu belongs inside it, not in front.