Subordinate clauses of purpose with the conjunction damit. Subordinating conjunctions in German Damit and um zu in German

About the German language, many students have already managed to break pens, pencils, keyboards, iPhones and laptops. To some it seems incredibly complicated, to others it seems quite simple. One thing remains absolutely clear - in German There are things that are completely unfamiliar to us and alien to Russian grammar.

And, oh woe, these are exactly the kind of “pokes in the wheels” that all sorts of examiners and test writers like to insert. Well, it’s worth knowing your enemy by sight, so let’s start analyzing German difficulties with such a seemingly easy topic as “ place of a verb in a German sentence".

Let's take a simple sentence:

Ich gehe einkaufen

I'm going shopping

The same thing if this “other” verb is any of the modal or future tense linking verbs werden:

Ich will/kann/möchte/muss/werde heute einkaufen.

I want / can / would like / should / will shop.

However, note that verbs other than modal ones usually require the particle “zu” before the second, in our case “purchasing” verb:

Ich versuche heute ein zu kaufen

I'm trying to do some shopping today.

Except versuchen such verbs are, for example, brauchen, bevorzugen, beabsichtigen. If we use the construction " einkaufen gehen", then zu "sticks" to the second of these verbs:

Ich versuche heute einkaufenzu gehen.

Naturally, the subject does not have to be in the first place, you can start the sentence with anything - but the verb will still be in the second position and in the last!

Heute versuche ich einkaufen zu gehen.

With the past and future tenses, everything is simple - the linking verb haben/werden will be in the 2nd position, and the main verb will be at the end.

Ich habe heute Morgen schon eingekauft.

I've already done my shopping this morning.

Ich werde später für uns beide einkaufen.

I'll do some shopping for both of us later.

Moreover, between the verb in the 2nd position and the verb at the end of the sentence there can be any number of other descriptions, clarifications and generally everything else. The main verb is still at the end!

Ich habe heute Morgen wegen des geplanten Abendessens bei den Eltern meiner Frau auf dem Weg nach Hause bei Lidl für 50 Euro eingekauft .

This morning on my way home I did €50 worth of shopping at Lidl for a planned dinner with my wife's parents.

But please note that in the case of the verb versuchen and similar ones + zu at the end of the sentence it will not be he, but “einzukaufen”!

Ich habe heute Morgen schon versucht einzukaufen.

I already tried to do some shopping this morning.

Finally, special subtleties arise when using modal verbs in the past tense. You can, of course, simply say:

Ich sollte einkaufen.

I needed to do some shopping.

But if we want to add a slight shade of sadness to this sentence for something undone, then instead of the simple infinitive “einkaufen” we need to use the perfect!

Ich sollte mein Essen eingekauft haben.

I should buy some food.

Thus, we got the subjunctive mood (“if only, if only…”). It can be expressed a little differently - using the verb hätten and a modal verb at the end. Don't forget that the modal verb will not change, i.e. at the end you get, as it were, 2 infinitives:

Ich hätte heute einkaufen sollen.

I should do some shopping.

Another example, the same principle of sentence construction, but this time without any subjunctive mood- simple past tense with a modal verb:

Ich habe meine Frau einkaufen lassen.

I let my wife do the shopping.

And, of course, do not forget about such little things as comparison. The one you are comparing with is even behind the verb at the very end of the sentence:

Ich kann besser einkaufen als sie.

I shop better than her.

So far, everything that has been said has only concerned a simple sentence. But what to do with verbs if the thought cannot be contained within a narrow framework, and a complex sentence is required? Look at the union right away!

• If the conjunction is coordinating - aber, denn, und, sondern, oder- then there are only two in front of you simple sentences, and the word order in them is the same as described above. The union itself seems to occupy a “zero” position and does not affect anything.
  

  Ich kann besser einkaufen, aber sie kann viel besser kochen.

  I shop better, but she can cook much better.

  
  Particular attention to the conjunction denn (“because”), because in Russian it is a subordinating one! But not in German:
  

  Ich kaufe ein, denn ich habe Hunger.

  I'm shopping because I'm hungry.

  
  The same thing, by the way, happens when you don’t have a conjunction in your sentence at all, but just a comma between the two parts. In this case, you have before you, as it were, 2 simple sentences with standard word order.

• The second case is already complex conjunctions deshalb, deswegen, darum, daher, dafür, dazu("That's why"). They stand at the beginning of the subordinate clause of the consequence and themselves occupy the 1st position.

Ich gehe einkaufen, deshalb brauche ich Geld.

I'm going shopping, so I need money.

• Finally, almost all other complex conjunctions. There are a great many of them. Here are the most common: weil, obwohl, da, dass, warum, ob, wenn, während, seitdem, als, solange, sobald, bevor, danach, nachdem and many others. All of them change the direct word order in the subordinate clause to the so-called “reverse”, when all the verbs end up at the end, and the last one is the one that performs grammatical functions.

Ich gehe einkaufen, obwohl der Kühlschrank noch voll ist.

I go shopping even though the refrigerator is still full.

To It is designated in two ways in German. Compare:

Er geht nach Deutschland, um Deutsch zu lernen. – He is going to Germany to learn German.

Ich schenke ihm ein deutsches Buch, damit er deutsche Literatur im Original liest. - I give him German book so that he read German literature in the original.

In the second case we have two sentences, the second of them is subordinate clause With introductory words damit (to). In the first case, there is one simple sentence, because there is only one agent (one subject): He's going to learn German. Here the special infinitive (the verb is in indefinite form) turnover with a word um (to). A zu is placed, as you remember, before the second verb in the sentence.

So, if there is only one actor, If He goes and aka will teach- Then um , and if there are two actors, if I give I to read He– Then damit.

However, damit has the right to be used in any case:

Wir beeilten uns, um den Zug nicht zu verpassen. – We were in a hurry so as not to miss the train.

Wir beeilten uns, damit wir den Zug nicht verpassten. – We were in a hurry so that we wouldn’t miss the train.

A um is possible only when there is only one actor.

The exception is sentences with verbs schicken, senden (to send)- it is possible in them um even when the actors are different:

Ich habe die Kinder zum Bäcker geschickt, um Brötchen zu holen. – I sent the children to the baker to bring buns (for buns).

There are two more infinitive phrases similar to the phrase with um- with the word ohne (without, without) and with the word (an)statt (instead of):

Er geht nach Deutschland, ohne die Sprache zu lernen. – He goes to Germany without learning (literally: without learning) the language.

Klaus ist in die Berge gefahren, (an)statt sich um seine Arbeit zu kümmern. – Klaus went to the mountains, not caring (instead of caring) about work.

Here there is also one subject (one agent). When the second figure appears, these phrases turn into subordinate clauses, adding dass. Since we are talking about an unreal, unfulfilled action, it is possible to use Konjunktiv 2:

ohne dass sein Studium beendet war/ were.

Er musste aus dem Ausland zurückkehren, anstatt dass seine Eltern ihn zu Ende studieren ließen. “He had to return from abroad instead of his parents giving him the opportunity to finish his studies.

Ohne dass ich was gesagt hätte, fing sie an zu weinen. – (Although) I didn’t say anything, she started crying.

Note also the infinitive phrase with als:

Der Junge hat nichts / etwas anderes im Kopf, als mit dem Motorrad herum zu fahren. - The guy has nothing else/something else on my mind other than (literally: than) driving around on a motorcycle.

But what should he actually do? This can also be indicated using als, as well as what should not:

Er tut alles andere, als sich auf die Prüfung vor zu bereiten. – He is not preparing for the exam at all (literally: he is doing everything other than preparing for the exam).

Try it yourself:

Make up sentences with damit or with um…zu:

Ich will meine eigene Firma gründen. Ich arbeite selbständig. – I want to found my own company. I work independently.

Ich mache meinen Sohn zum Vertreter unserer Firma in China. Er arbeitet selbständig. – I will make my son a representative of our company in China. ...

Er bucht für seine Frau eine Reise in die Berge. Sie fährt Ski. – He orders a trip to the mountains for his wife. She goes skiing.

Wir reisen in die Berge. Wir fahren Ski. - We're going to the mountains. ...

Ich wecke meine Tochter um sechs Uhr. Sie kommt rechtzeitig in die Schule. – I wake up my daughter at six o’clock. She comes to school on time.

Ich stehe um sechs Uhr auf. Ich komme rechtzeitig zur Arbeit. – I get up at six o’clock. I come to work on time.

Sie lernt Englisch. Sie kann (< – können) im Ausland arbeiten. – Она учит английский. Она может работать за границей.

Agnes bringt ihrer Freundin Englisch bei. Sie kann im Ausland arbeiten. Agnes is teaching her friend English. ...

Ich kaufe mir dieses Buch. Ich fühle mich sicherer in deutscher Sprache. – I buy/will buy myself this book. I feel more confident in German.

Mein Onkel hat mir dieses Buch geschenkt. Ich fühle mich sicherer in deutscher Sprache. – My uncle gave me this book. ...

Ich fahre meine Gäste zum Bahnhof. Sie kommen schneller in die Stadt. – I’ll take the guests to the station. They will get to the city faster.

Ich fahre mit dem Taxi. Ich komme schneller in die Stadt. - I'll take a taxi. I'll get to the city quickly.

Mein Chef lässt mich sein Auto kontrollieren. Er hat im Urlaub keinen Ärger. – The boss instructs me to check his (his) car. He won't have any troubles on vacation.

Ich lasse mein Auto kontrollieren. Ich habe im Urlaub keinen Ärger. - I'll let you check my car. I won't have any troubles on vacation.

Ich gehe einkaufen. Ich habe am Wochenende etwas zu essen. – I’ll go to the store (to buy). I'll have something to eat on the weekend.

Meine Frau geht einkaufen. Ich habe am Wochenende etwas zu essen. — My wife is going to the store. I'll have something to eat on the weekend.

Say in German:

She wants to work abroad without learning English. I work independently, without founding my own company. I work independently, although (without) my uncle making me a representative of our company in China.

He goes skiing instead of learning English.

I'll go to the mountains instead of going to work. Agnes teaches her friend English instead of her studying the language abroad.

She has only one thing on her mind: skiing/learn English.

He does whatever he wants instead of learning English.

Subordinate clauses of purpose answer the question “Wozu?” (For what?) and “Zu welchem ​​Zweck?” (For what purpose?).

If both parts of the sentence talk about the same subject, then the subordinate clause of the goal is connected to the main clause with the conjunction “um”, followed by all other members of the sentence, and the infinitive with “zu” appears at the end of the sentence.

Ich(= I) = ich(= I)

• Ich lerne fleißig Deutsch. Ich will in Deutschland studieren.
  I'm studying German hard. I want to study in Germany.
• Ich lerne fleißig Deutsch, um in Germany zu studieren.
  I am studying German hard so that I can study in Germany.

• Zwei Škoda-Automechaniker fahren in ein einsames, österreichisches Alpendorf, um Ski zu fahren.
  Two Škoda auto mechanics travel to a secluded Austrian Alpine village to go skiing.

In a sentence with “um…zu” the modal verb “wollen” is not used.

• Laura sieht sich oft Filme an. Sie will mit den Freunden darüber reden.
  Laura often watches films. She wants to talk about it with her friends.
• Laura sieht sich oft Filme an, um will mit den Freunden darüber zu reden.
  Laura often watches films to talk about it with friends.

If both parts of the sentence have different subjects, then the subordinate clause of the goal (Finalsatz) is connected to the main clause with the conjunction “damit”. After the conjunction, there is a subordinate clause (subject + other members of the sentence + predicate at the end).

Ich(= I) ≠ my Chef(= My boss)

• Ich lerne fleißig Deutsch. Mein Chef soll zufrieden sein.
  I'm studying German. My boss should be pleased.
• Ich lerne fleißig Deutsch, damit mein Chef zufrieden ist.
  I'm learning German to make my boss happy.

After alliances aber - but, und - and, and, sondern - but, but, denn - because, oder - either, either subordinate clauses use direct word order.

Die Eltern fahren nach Italien für die Kinder

The parents are leaving for Italy, and the aunt will look after the children

Reverse word order

In subordinate clauses after conjunctions darum, deshalb, deswegen, sonst, trotzdem, dann, folglich used reverse word order. That is, the subject and predicate in the subordinate clause change places.

Präsens (Present)

Ich habe keines Auto. mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

Ich habe keines Auto, mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

I don't have a car, so I take the bus to work

Perfect (Past tense)

In this case auxiliary verb (haben/sein) to stand on first place after the union, and verb in third form leaves to the end subordinate clause.

Ich hatte keines Auto. mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

Ich hatte keines Auto, mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

I didn't have a car, so I took the bus to work

Inversion

In subordinate clauses after conjunctions dass (what), weil (because), wenn (if, when), falls (in case), während (bye), bevor (before; before), nachdem (after that), obwohl (though) - used inversion . That is verb in a subordinate clause goes to the end .

Präsens(Present tense)

keines Auto. Ich fahre mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

I don't have a car. I go to work by bus

Ich fahre mit dem Bus zur Arbeit, keines Auto

I go to work by bus because I don't have a car.

Ich Weiß, in der Schule

I know he is in school

Präteritum (Past tense)

keines Auto. Ich fuhr mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

I didn't have a car. I went to work by bus

Ich fuhr mit dem Bus zur Arbeit, keines Auto

I went to work by bus because I didn't have a car.

Perfect (Past tense)

In this case both verbs subordinate clause go to the end , but on last place put auxiliary verb or anyone else who was with the subject.

Ich habe ein Auto nicht gekauft. mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

I didn't buy a car. I went to work by bus

Ich habe ein Auto nicht gekauft, mit dem Bus zur Arbeit

I didn't buy a car because I took the bus to work

If the subordinate clause is with a conjunction wenn stands before the main clause, then the main thing often begins with the words so or Dann :

mein bald, ins Kino

If my friend comes soon, we'll go to the cinema

WENN or ALS

Wenn in the meaning of “when” is used if the actions in the main and subordinate clauses occur simultaneously. Also wenn in the meaning "when", used to emphasize recurrence actions:

nach Moskau, mich unbedingt

When he comes to Moscow, he always visits me

Als also translated “when”, but used in the past tense when one-time action:

meine Freundin, am Sonnstag im Theater

We met my friend when we were at the theater on Sunday

Construction of UM ... ZU and DAMIT

Union um...zu + Inf. and damit expresses target .

Er geht nach Deutschland, Deutsch

He goes to Germany to learn German

Ich schenke ihm ein Lehrbuch der deutschen Sprache, er deutsche Sprache

I give him a German textbook so he can learn German

Design (AN)STATT...ZU

Anstatt seine Hausaufgaben zu machen, sieht das Mädchen fern

Instead of doing her homework, the girl watches TV

Design OHNE...ZU

Sie geht, ohne sich zu verabschieden

She leaves without saying goodbye

Inversion with DER(DIE, DAS, DESSEN)

Union der ( die, das, dessen, den, dem ) expresses the definition.

Ich fahre in der Stadt, in meine Verwandten

I'm going to the city where my relatives live

So, let's find out how to express purpose in German? How to ask “Why?”, “For what?”, “For what purpose?”. And we will also learn to answer such questions.

To ask “Why”, “For what purpose?” we need a question Wozu?

For example: Wozu brauchst du Geld?- Why/What do you need money for?

To answer the question “Why/For what purpose?” (Wozu?) we should use phrases um zu, damit in German. The phrases um zu, damit are translated as follows: “in order to... / in order to...”.

How to construct a sentence with the phrase “um zu”? Let's look at an example:
— Wozu brauchst du Geld?
— Ich brauche Geld,(um glücklich zu sein). (purpose/for what?)
- I need money (in order to be happy).
In the example we see that between um…zu costs glücklich, A after zu Necessarily goes verb(in this case sein).The verb cannot stand between um zu, it only appears after this turn! Between um zu there can be adjectives, nouns, an object, but NOT a verb!

Now we will answer negatively, using a negative particle kein:
—Ich brauche kein Geld (um glücklich zu sein). . (Zweck-target)
- To me Not need money (to be happy.)

Let's look at a couple more examples:

— Ich brauche eine Ausbildung, (um einen Job zu finden). (Zweck-target)
— I need education (in order to find a job).
Here, between um zu there is einen Job, and after zu there is a verb.

Another example:
— Wozu benutzt du der Laptop?
— Ich benutze der Laptop (um zu arbeiten). (Zweck-target) — I use a laptop (in order to work).

In this case, in expressing the goal, we use only the Verb (arbeiten) and therefore it is placed only after the phrase um zu.

Or
— Ich benutze der Laptop (um sich Filme anzusehen). (Zweck-target)
— I use a laptop (in order to watch movies on it).
In this example, we use a verb with the separable prefix ansehen. When there are verbs of this type, the particle zu is placed between the prefix and the verb - an zu sehen. But not “zu ansehen” - that would be a mistake.

P.s. Um zu is used when talking about the 1st figure/person, when the subject is identisch.

A synonym for "um zu" is "damit". Damit on the contrary, it is used in all cases - both if the same subject/actor is spoken of, and if it is said about 2 different persons (Subjekt nicht identisch).

How to construct a sentence with damit?
In a sentence with damit, the verb will always go to the end of the sentence.

Let's look at examples:
— Wozu brauchst du eine Ausbildung?
— Ich brauche eine Ausbildung, (damit ich einen Job finde). — The verb finde at the end.
— I need education (so that I can find a job).

Example:
—Wozu brauchst du einen Job?
- Ich brauche einen Job, (damit ich eine Wohnung bezahlen kann).
- I need a job (so that I can pay for the apartment.)
Here's an example with two verbs: modal verb kann and simple verb bezahlen. In this case, the modal verb comes after the regular verb at the very end.
Why? Let's take it and make it from a subordinate clause with damit regular offer: Ich kann eine Wohnung bezahlen. Here we see that the modal verb kann comes in 2nd place, and the regular verb bezahlen comes last.
And so when we made this sentence subordinate clause with damit, That the verb in 2nd place went to the very end and it turned out:
…….., damit ich eine Wohnung bezahlen kann.

Another similar example:
— Wozu braucht man einen Bus?
— Man braucht einen Bus, (damit die Menschen reisen können).
- Need a bus (so that people can travel).
There is also a modal verb here können at the end after the verb reisen.
Damit used only with the modal verb können. Other modal verbs not used with damit.

That's all with the phrases um zu, damit in German! I wish you all a great mood and successful studies 😉 Subscribe, share on social networks and write comments =)