GrammarC1· Hochschule & wissenschaftliches Arbeiten
Das Gerundiv: zu + Partizip I
The gerundive: zu + present participle
Kartoffel · your teacher
Hi! Let's look at this one together — step by step, no rush.
From what you know
Die Arbeit ist bis Mai einzureichen.becomesdie bis Mai einzureichende Arbeit6 parts · about 6 min
1What & when
In one line
In one linezu and a present before a noun mean 'to be done': die zu prüfenden Unterlagen.
1
Before
Die Unterlagen, die geprüft werden müssen, liegen im Sekretariat.
Watch the sentence change …
The folds into one word in front of the noun. geprüft werden müssen becomes zu prüfenden.
„Die zu prüfenden Unterlagen liegen im Sekretariat.“ — The documents to be checked are in the office.
Kartoffel
First, what is it?
The Gerundiv (gerundive) says what must, can or must not be done to something. It is formal and written, and it packs all that into one word in front of the noun: die zu prüfenden Unterlagen, the documents to be checked. It is built like the Partizip I, the present (prüfend), with zu in front and an .
Kartoffel
And when do you need it? More often than you'd think:
Hochschule & wissenschaftliches ArbeitenStudy regulations, style guides, contracts, official letters and academic texts use it all the time: die einzureichende Arbeit, die einzuhaltende Frist, ein nicht zu unterschätzendes Problem. In conversation, in office hours or with fellow students, a with müssen or können sounds more natural.
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