Infinitive Clauses: um...zu, ohne...zu, statt...zu
Infinitive उपवाक्य: um...zu, ohne...zu, statt...zu
German links a purpose, exception, or alternative to a main clause using um...zu, ohne...zu, and statt...zu — quite close to Hindi's 'के लिए', 'बिना...किए', 'के बजाय'.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
um...zu: purpose, like 'के लिए'
Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Deutschland zu arbeiten.
मैं जर्मनी में काम करने के लिए जर्मन सीख रहा हूँ।
um...zu shows purpose — why someone does something — very much like Hindi's "...करने के लिए". It requires the same subject in both clauses; if the subjects differ, German switches to a damit-clause instead. Word order: um opens the clause, and zu + infinitive closes it, with everything else in between (um in Deutschland zu arbeiten).
ohne...zu: 'without ...ing'
Er verließ das Haus, ohne die Tür abzuschließen.
वह बिना दरवाज़ा बंद किए घर से निकल गया।
ohne...zu maps directly onto Hindi's "बिना...किए" — both use a 'without'-type word plus a verb form. The only difference: German uses zu + infinitive (zu schließen), while Hindi uses 'किए' (a kind of perfective participle). With separable verbs, zu is inserted between the prefix and the stem, all written as one word: abschließen → abzuschließen.
statt...zu: 'instead of'
Statt zu arbeiten, hat er ferngesehen.
काम करने के बजाय, उसने टीवी देखा।
statt...zu (also written anstatt...zu) marks something that didn't happen, in favor of something that did — exactly like Hindi's "...के बजाय". Like ohne...zu, this also requires zu + infinitive in German — this small but consistent difference is worth keeping in mind across all three constructions.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| um...zu | oom ... tsoo | ...के लिए...ke lie | in order to |
| ohne...zu | OH-neh ... tsoo | बिना ...किएbinā ...kie | without ...ing |
| statt...zu | shtaht ... tsoo | ...के बजाय...ke bajāy | instead of ...ing |
| um Deutsch zu lernen | oom doytsh tsoo LAIR-nen | जर्मन सीखने के लिएjarman sīkhne ke lie | in order to learn German |
| ohne etwas zu sagen | OH-neh ET-vahs tsoo ZAH-gen | बिना कुछ कहेbinā kuch kahe | without saying anything |
| statt zu Hause zu bleiben | shtaht tsoo HOW-zeh tsoo BLY-ben | घर पर रहने के बजायghar par rahne ke bajāy | instead of staying home |
| um pünktlich zu sein | oom PUENKT-likh tsoo zine | समय पर होने के लिएsamay par hone ke lie | in order to be on time |
| ohne es zu wissen | OH-neh es tsoo VIS-en | बिना जानेbinā jāne | without knowing it |