German anstatt zu & ohne zu
The form anstatt … zu (sometimes statt … zu) introduces an alternative option or something that is unexpected. In English, an equivalent would be instead of.
Um…zu and ohne…zu can also be used as an infinitive construction (Infinitivskonstruktion) where they are merely placed in front of an infinitive with other details in between.
German infinitival clauses are formed using the preposition “zu” and a verb infinitive.
Many of “zu + infinitive” constructions can be translated into English with “to + infintive”.
Examples:
Er hat heute keine Zeit die E-Mail zu lesen.
He has not time today to read the email.
Some infinitival clauses are translated into English with gerunds (verb + ing).
Two examples are the conjunctions “(an)statt zu + infinitive)” and “ohne zu + infinitive”.
1. “(An)statt + zu + infinitive”
The conjunction “anstatt” or “statt” + “zu” is used to express “instead of doing”. “Doing” in this example is the gerund. “Anstatt” and “statt” are interchangeable. As with other infinitive clauses, using “anstatt” moves the “zu + infinitive” to the end of the clause or sentence.
Examples:
Er bleibt heute zu Hause, anstatt in die Arbeit zu gehen.
He is staying home today, instead of going to work.
Wir gehen lieber essen, statt selber zu kochen.
We rather go out to eat, instead of cooking ourselves.
Careful: “statt” can also be used as a preposition. If used as a preposition, it trigers the genitive case.
2. Ohne + zu + infinitive”
“ohne zu” is used to express “without doing”. Like “anstatt”, an infinitive clause with “ohne” also requires the “zu + infinitive” part of the construction to be at the end of the clause or sentence.
Examples:
Ohne sich warm zu machen, nahm er am Training teil.
Without warming himself up, he participated in the training.
Sie hat die Prüfung bestanden, ohne gelernt zu haben.
She has passed the exam without having studied.
The form anstatt … zu (sometimes seen as statt … zu) introduces an alternative option or something that is unexpected. In English, an equivalent would be instead of. Um…zu and ohne…zu can also be used as an infinitive construction (Infinitivskonstruktion) where they are placed in front of an infinitive with details in between.
We must keep two things in mind when building these constructions:
- The subject in the subordinate clause is the same as in the main clause.
- zu + Verb in infinitive go at the end of the sentence.
