h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Coolies.... I think I understand... sort of... though I'll have to read over this stuff a few times before there's any chance of my remembering it.

*happy and a bit proud of herself*

Coolies. Oh, also, in my German thingy towards the end of the last thing I did it had a little note just mentioning something about how I think if you use "denn" to connect clauses together then you have to add "zu" somewhere into the following clause... I think it was saying it about denn... But... ... it was odd... and confusing... if you have no idea what I am on about I will find the piece of paper that was ranting about it and tell you what it actually says instead of my vague memory of it...

Don't know about 'denn', but there is a nice rhyme you could learn, about the usage of 'brauchen'(use) :
Wer 'brauchen' ohne 'zu' gebraucht,
braucht 'brauchen' überhaupt nicht ZU gebrauchen !

In other words, if you use 'use', you have to use 'to' aswell.

Please search for the paper, I don't really know what you mean.

Or do you mean "um"? "Um zu"?

Um einen Kuchen zu backen braucht man...

If you want to bake a cake you need...

The one about "brauchen" is good!

*nods and backs away slowly*

So you really mean "umzu"? Was a good guess then, hm?

My nodding and backing away slowly was to the weird little rhyme thing. I have no idea what I mean, nor do I know what you mean by "umzu". I would go find my piece of paper now, but my brother is home and if I give up my position on the computer he mightn't let me back in here.

Although I am willing to learn about this "umzu" you speak of.

...hhmmmm. It's a bit hard to explain, I don't know where to start.

It's just as you said: if you have "um" you have to use "zu" too.

Ich gehe ins Kino UM den neuen Film ZU sehen.
(I go to the cimema to see the new fim)

The verb afer zu is always in infinitive. The sentence always shows a reason.
Warum gehe ich ins Kino? Um den neuen Film zu sehen.
(why do I go to the cinema? To see the new film.)

Oooh, I found what I was ranting about, and yeah, it's nothing to do with "denn" but there was something on another page ranting about "denn" which is probably where I got that into my brain (nya, I told you... too much German, it's all overloading and getting muddled...) aaaaanyway....... it's ranting about "lust" and "zu" and how if a separable verb is used, 'zu' must be placed between the two parts of the infinitive... what's it on about? *turns into a muddle headed wombat and wanders off* (What's the German word for wombat?)

Never heard any other word than wombat.
I'll think about lust zu. I'm back in a second.

ok, ich versuchs mal:

z.B. hinausgehen
Ich habe Lust hinaus zu gehen.

hinausgehen wird geteilt und "zu" dazwischen geschoben

abwaschen
Ich habe Lust ab zu waschen.

kochen zum Beispiel ist nicht teilbar, also:
Ich habe Lust zu kochen.

Mehr ist eigentlich nicht dahinter.

In der Vergangenheit ist es genau so:
Ich hatte Lust hinaus zu gehen.


ok, I'll try:
e.g. go outside
I feel like going outside.
go outside is split in two parts and "zu" is put between them

wash up
I feel like washing up.

cook for instance is not separable, so:
I feel like cooking.

In fact there's not more about it.

In Past it's the same:
I felt like going outside.

Leider war ich anscheinend zu spät dran und sie hats noch nicht gelesen. Ich hab erst nach einer Zeit geantwortet und da war sie schon weg glaub ich.

Unfortunately I seem to have come too late and she hasn't read it yet. I answered some time after her post and she was already away then I think.

Oooooh, I get it. Coolies. Thanks. *pounces on you and cuddles you as thanks*

You're always welcome!

Hi, I have read through the thread. I am sorry It took so long for a reply.

Hi Tim!
Hast du bis jetzt irgendwelche Fragen?


Do you have any questions so far?