{"id":934,"date":"2010-06-07T22:51:50","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T21:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/?p=934"},"modified":"2012-11-16T15:22:23","modified_gmt":"2012-11-16T14:22:23","slug":"how-and-when-to-use-the-word-zu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/934\/how-and-when-to-use-the-word-zu","title":{"rendered":"How and when to use the word “zu”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The word \u201czu\u201c is used in different ways in the German language.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    1) The word \u201czu\u201d is used as a verb \tprefix<\/strong><\/em><\/span>.<\/h3>\n<\/ol>\n

    With the English language, a verb prefix is a word like \u201cup\u201d or \u201cdown\u201d. These are used with verbs to create new verbs which mean something completely different.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    get \u2013 get up \u2013 get down<\/span><\/p>\n

    talk \u2013 talk up \u2013 talk down<\/span><\/p>\n

    stand \u2013 stand up \u2013 stand down<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    This is similar to German, but the prefixes are put before the infinitive of the verb and joined to it:<\/span><\/p>\n

    zu (meaning to<\/em>) + machen (meaning to make<\/em>) = zumachen (meaning to close<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    zu (meaning to<\/em>) + geben (meaning to give<\/em>) = zugeben (meaning to admit<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    Prefixes can be found in weak, strong and mixed verbs. Verbs which are built with the prefix \u201czu\u201d are separated from the verb and are called separable prefixes.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    The word \u201czu\u201d as a verb prefix is often used to express the following situations:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • A <\/span>movement<\/em><\/span>. <\/span>I’m walking towards \tsomething. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      For example:<\/span> <\/span>Ich laufe auf dich zu. \u2013 I\u2018m walking towards you.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      • To \thave <\/span>hold<\/em><\/span> of something<\/em><\/span>. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        For example: Ich greife zu… \u2013 I grip something<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • As \tan <\/span>addition <\/em><\/span>of \tsomething. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          For example: Ich muss 20\u20ac zuzahlen. – I have to pay 20\u20ac extra. <\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          • To \tgive attention<\/em> to someone: <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            For example: Ich h\u00f6re dir zu. \u2013 I\u2019m listening to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • To \tdescribe that something is being<\/em> closed<\/em>: <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              For example: Er macht die T\u00fcr zu. \u2013 He closes the door.<\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              • To \tdescribe, that something is being<\/em> covered<\/em>:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                For example: Ich decke die Seite zu. \u2013 I cover up the page<\/span><\/p>\n

                2) The word \u201czu\u201d is used as a preposition<\/strong><\/em><\/span>:<\/h3>\n

                The word \u201czu\u201d is used <\/span>to describe, that you are going <\/span>to something<\/em><\/span><\/strong> or <\/span>to someone<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

                For example: Ich gehe zu meiner Freundin. \u2013 I am going to my girlfriend’s.<\/span><\/p>\n

                Der Bus f\u00e4hrt zum (zu + dem) Zoo. <\/span>The bus is going to the zoo.<\/span><\/p>\n

                When using zu in this way, you can shorten \u201ezu dem\u201c to \u201ezum\u201c and \u201ezu der\u201c to \u201ezur\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n

                The word \u201czu\u201c can also be used without any article. In these cases, we are talking about the situation of someone (behavior of someone):<\/span><\/p>\n

                For example: <\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Gl\u00fcck zu haben \u2013 to be lucky<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Lust (auf etwas) zu haben \u2013 to feel like (doing something) \u2013 <\/span>lit: lust (on something) to have.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
                • Freude (an etwas) zu haben \u2013 to take pleasure (in something)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


                  \n<\/span><\/p>\n

                  3) The word \u201czu\u201c is used with the infinitive<\/strong><\/em>:<\/h3>\n

                  The infinitive is the full <\/span>to<\/em><\/span><\/span> form of the verb, for example: <\/span>to sleep<\/em><\/span>, <\/span>to do<\/em><\/span>. In German it is always written with an <\/span>en<\/span><\/span> on the end.<\/span><\/p>\n

                  \u201cZu\u201d is used where the full infinitive is used in the English equivalent:<\/span><\/p>\n

                  For example:<\/span><\/p>\n

                  Ich versuchte zu reiten. <\/span>– I tried to ride. (after the verb)<\/span><\/p>\n

                  Er ist einfach zu verstehen. \u2013 He is easy to understand. <\/span>(after the adjective)<\/span><\/p>\n

                  Wir haben keine Zeit, die K\u00fcche zu putzen. \u2013 We don\u2019t have time to clean the kitchen. (after the noun)<\/span><\/p>\n

                  There are a few exceptions to this rule. \u201cZu\u201d is <\/span>not <\/strong><\/span>used with the following verbs:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • d\u00fcrfen<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • k\u00f6nnen<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • m\u00f6gen<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • m\u00fcssen<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • sollen<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • wollen<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • w\u00fcrden<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    The English ing<\/em><\/span> form is often used instead of the infinitive but the word \u201czu\u201d is still applicable in the German language:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    For example:<\/span><\/p>\n

                    Er fand es leicht, deutsch zu lernen \u2013 He found learning German was easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n

                    \n

                    <\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n

                    <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    The word \u201czu\u201c is used in different ways in the German language. 1) The word \u201czu\u201d is used as a verb prefix. With the English language, a verb prefix is a word like \u201cup\u201d or \u201cdown\u201d. These are used with verbs to create new verbs which mean something completely different. get \u2013 get up \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":953,"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934\/revisions\/953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}