Why do I need Wozu? um... zu

Good day everyone! These times we are experiencing today are changing, hopefully to a more united, loving, and peaceful world. We need love to bind the world together. We need language to bring more communication with each other. And so I hope that today we can learn a little bit more about how we can say this "We need... to..." in German. So let's dive in!

We need love for unity. ( pic: Instagram @perrygrone)

Wozu? means roughly What for? in German. And this has a very specific kind of response in return. Let's look at the sentence:
  • Wozu benutzt du die Schere?
    (What do you need the scissors for?)
You would respond...
  • Ich benutze die Schere, um Papier zu schneiden.
    (I need the scissors to cut the paper.)
If you look at the structure of the response, you see that the sentence has the verb in second position (benutze) and the object that you need (die Schere) followed by a comma (,) with the other object (Papier) and the verb at the end (schneiden). The verb at the end is not conjugated!

Some other examples:
  • Wozu benutzt du dein Handy?
    a) Ich benutze mein Handy, um ein Foto zu machen.
    b) Ich benutze mein Handy, um anzurufen.
Example a) shows what we talked about before. With b) that has a Trennbar Verb - a verb that can be split (e.g. an|rufen, auf|passen) - then you put the zu in between where the verb would normally be split.

Another situation:
  • Wozu benutzt du den Reisepass?
    c) Ich benutze den Reisepass, um Europa zu sehen.
    d) Ich benutze den Reisepass, um zu reisen.
Example c) shows the same first part of the sentence, with the um (other object/thing/place) zu (verb). But in example d) you see that there is no other object. You need the passport to travel. In this case, you just have the um zu next to each other followed by the verb.

The responses I've shown so far are complete sentences. So what happens in everyday conversation? You can shorten it by just responding with everything after the comma. Here are some examples:
  • Wozu benutzt du dein Heft?  > um zu schreiben
  • Wozu benutzt du Deutsch? > um Leute zu sprechen
  • Wozu benutzt du eine Maske? > um mich und andere vor Corona zu schützen
  • Wozu benutzt ein Wörterbuch? > um Wörter nachzuschlagen (nach|schlagen)
So now we've used this Wozu with the verb benutzen (to use), but there are other verbs that can be used. Here is a taste:
  • benutzen (to use)
  • brauchen (to need)
  • machen (to make/do)
  • verwenden (to utilize)
  • lesen (to read)
  • schreiben (to write)
So you can see that the verbs, especially with the last two on the list, can be many many more. And so I will end this here. You will get some more practice with the exercise pdf. Have a great week!

German Exercise for the Week

Wozu brauchst du das? (um ... zu ...) (Level: A2)

In this exercise, you'll play a board game that will help you practice um zu questions and answers. Have fun and be silly!

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