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Infinitivkonstruktionen — erweitert

C1Advanced infinitive constructions

Er behauptet, sie gesehen zu haben.

He claims to have seen her.

ERKLÄRUNG

The core pattern is: a verb or adjective is followed by an infinitive with zu when German wants a compact, higher-register way to express obligation, tendency, or evaluation. The perfect infinitive (gesehen zu haben) points to an earlier action; the passive infinitive with zu werden (befördert zu werden) expresses a passive event or process involving the subject. A passive state is expressed with Partizip II + zu sein, as in befördert zu sein.

German infinitive constructions let you compress information without losing meaning. In advanced usage, haben + zu expresses obligation, sein + zu expresses possibility or necessity, and verbs like scheinen, pflegen, drohen and vermögen can govern an infinitive with zu.

STRUKTUR

haben (conjugated) + zu + Infinitiv / sein + zu + Infinitiv

Use this pattern for obligation or general necessity, often in formal style.

Du hast zu warten.You have to wait.
Das ist nicht zu vermeiden.That cannot be avoided.
Die Tür ist zu schließen.The door is to be closed.

scheinen / pflegen / drohen / vermögen + zu + Infinitiv

These verbs are not auxiliaries here; they control a dependent infinitive phrase.

Er scheint Bescheid zu wissen.He seems to know what is going on.
Sie pflegt abends zu lesen.She tends to read in the evening.
Der Zug droht auszufallen.The train threatens to be cancelled.

Infinitiv Perfekt: Partizip II + zu + haben / sein; Infinitiv Passiv: Partizip II + zu + werden

Use the perfect infinitive for earlier time and the passive infinitive with zu werden for a passive event or process involving the subject.

Er behauptet, sie gesehen zu haben.He claims to have seen her.
Sie hofft, befördert zu werden.She hopes to be promoted.
Wir freuen uns, den Auftrag bekommen zu haben.We are pleased to have received the order.

ÜBERSICHT

Overview of advanced infinitive constructions

Structure	Meaning	Time relation	Example
haben + zu + Infinitiv	obligation	same time / general	Du hast zu lernen.
sein + zu + Infinitiv	possibility / necessity	same time / general	Das ist nicht zu lösen.
Infinitiv Perfekt	earlier action	earlier	Er behauptet, sie gesehen zu haben.
Infinitiv Passiv	passive meaning	often future or contemporaneous / not necessarily completed	Sie hofft, befördert zu werden.

TYPISCHE FEHLER

Du hast warten.
Du hast zu warten.
With haben + zu, German expresses an obligation. A bare infinitive like warten sounds incomplete in this meaning.
Das ist nicht vermeiden.
Das ist nicht zu vermeiden.
sein + zu often means that something is possible or necessary in a general sense. Without zu, the sentence loses this compact passive meaning.
Er scheint angekommen zu haben.
Er scheint angekommen zu sein.
With ankommen, the perfect infinitive uses the auxiliary sein, not haben.
Sie hofft, befördert werden.
Sie hofft, befördert zu werden.
In the passive infinitive, zu must come before werden.

HINWEISE

haben + zu and sein + zu are common in formal writing and careful speech; they sound more compact than a full clause.
The perfect infinitive marks an action as earlier than the reference time; it does not usually require a past context, since it can occur with a present main verb, as in Er behauptet, sie gesehen zu haben.
The passive infinitive with zu werden often refers to a process or future event, but its interpretation depends on the surrounding verb and context; it is not inherently opposed to a completed state.
Do not confuse these forms with um zu, ohne zu and statt zu; those express purpose, absence or replacement, not obligation or time relations.

VERWANDT

Vor- und Nachzeitigkeit: nachdem, bevor, sobaldTime order with connectivesB2 PassiversatzformenPassive alternativesB2 Subjektive ModalverbenSubjective modal verbsC1 Nominalstil und VerbalstilNominal and verbal styleC1

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