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Lesson 32B1

Infinitive Clauses: um...zu, ohne...zu, statt...zu

நோக்க/விதிவிலக்கு துணை வாக்கியங்கள்

German expresses purpose, exception, and substitution with a three-part frame — um/ohne/statt ... zu + infinitive — pushing the verb to the end one more time, in a construction Tamil handles with a single purpose suffix.

Grammar Comparison

இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு

um...zu ≈ Tamil's purpose suffix -அதற்காக

German

Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Deutschland zu arbeiten. (I learn German [in order] to work in Germany)

Tamil

ஜெர்மனியில் வேலை செய்வதற்காக, நான் ஜெர்மன் கற்கிறேன். (work-doing-for, I German learn)

Tamil expresses purpose with a single suffix, -அதற்காக ('in order to / for the purpose of'), attached to the goal verb. German instead wraps the goal verb in a three-piece frame: um at the start, zu directly before the infinitive, and the infinitive itself at the very end of the clause. The meaning matches Tamil's -அதற்காக exactly; the German version just spreads that single suffix's job across three separate words.

Vocabulary

சொற்கள்

GermanPronunciationTamilEnglish
um ... zuoom ... tsoo...அதற்காக...adhaṟkāgain order to
ohne ... zuOH-neh ... tsoo...இல்லாமல்...illāmalwithout ...ing
statt ... zushtaht ... tsoo...க்கு பதிலாக...kku padhilāgainstead of ...ing
Ich lerne, um zu arbeiten.ikh LAIR-neh oom tsoo AHR-by-tenவேலை செய்வதற்காக கற்கிறேன்.vēlai seyvadhaṟkāga kaṟkiṟēn.I learn in order to work.
Er ging, ohne zu zahlen.air ging OH-neh tsoo TSAH-lenஅவன் பணம் கொடுக்காமல் போனான்.avan paṇam koḍukkāmal pōṉāṉ.He left without paying.