B2–C1 · GFH · 20 patterns

Infinitive tense, voice and subject control

Compare how English and German express infinitive tense, voice and subject control. Practise reusable constructions with Russian translations.

01 · How to use this set

Start from the communication job

Compare how English and German express infinitive tense, voice and subject control. Practise reusable constructions with Russian translations.

Read the frame, try to complete your own sentence before opening an example, then compare the English structure with its German parallel. The point is retrieval and choice, not passive list reading.

02 · Representative patterns

Start with these reusable frames

A compact sample from the 20 patterns in this study set.

01Subject + seem(s) to have + past participleShe seems to have misunderstood the deadline. · German parallel: Subject + scheinen + participle + zu haben/sein 02Subject + appear(s) to be + -ing phraseThe team appears to be making progress. · German parallel: Subject + scheinen + present infinitive with zu 03Subject + seem(s) to have been + -ing + duration contextHe seems to have been using an outdated address all this time. · German parallel: Subject + scheinen + duration phrase + participle + zu haben 04Subject + claim(s) to have been + passive participle phraseHe claims to have been given the wrong instructions. · German parallel: Subject + behaupten, participle + worden zu sein / dass + passive clause 05There + seems/seem to be + noun phraseThere seems to be a problem with the connection. · German parallel: Es scheint + noun phrase + zu geben 06Subject + be + easy/difficult/hard + to + transitive verb without repeated objectThis report is easy to follow. · German parallel: Subject + sein + leicht/schwer + zu-infinitive

03 · Complete set

Browse every pattern

The canonical list follows below. Every pattern has a stable ID and its own page for examples, translation, and reuse.

01Subject + seem(s) to have + past participleGFH001 · Subject + seem(s) to have + past participle / Subject + scheinen + participle + zu haben/sein 02Subject + appear(s) to be + -ing phraseGFH002 · Subject + appear(s) to be + -ing phrase / Subject + scheinen + present infinitive with zu 03Subject + seem(s) to have been + -ing + duration contextGFH003 · Subject + seem(s) to have been + -ing + duration context / Subject + scheinen + duration phrase + participle + zu haben 04Subject + claim(s) to have been + passive participle phraseGFH004 · Subject + claim(s) to have been + passive participle phrase / Subject + behaupten, participle + worden zu sein / dass + passive clause 05There + seems/seem to be + noun phraseGFH005 · There + seems/seem to be + noun phrase / Es scheint + noun phrase + zu geben 06Subject + be + easy/difficult/hard + to + transitive verb without repeated objectGFH006 · Subject + be + easy/difficult/hard + to + transitive verb without repeated object / Subject + sein + leicht/schwer + zu-infinitive 07It + be + adjective + for + noun/object pronoun + to-infinitiveGFH007 · It + be + adjective + for + noun/object pronoun + to-infinitive / Es + sein + für + accusative subject phrase + adjective, zu-infinitive 08It + be + evaluative adjective + of + person + to-infinitiveGFH008 · It + be + evaluative adjective + of + person + to-infinitive / Es + war + evaluative adjective + von + dative person, zu-infinitive 09For + noun/object pronoun + to-infinitive phrase + singular main predicateGFH009 · For + noun/object pronoun + to-infinitive phrase + singular main predicate / Dass/wenn + explicit-subject clause, + main predicate 10Subject + be + too + adjective + for + actor + to + transitive infinitiveGFH010 · Subject + be + too + adjective + for + actor + to + transitive infinitive / Subject + sein + zu + adjective, als dass + actor + object + Konjunktiv II modal 11Subject + be + adjective + enough + for + actor + to-infinitiveGFH011 · Subject + be + adjective + enough + for + actor + to-infinitive / Subject + sein + adjective + genug, damit + actor + modal clause 12Subject + past action, only to + infinitive phraseGFH012 · Subject + past action, only to + infinitive phrase / Past action, nur um dann + zu-infinitive of unexpected result 13Subject + action + so as not to + bare infinitiveGFH013 · Subject + action + so as not to + bare infinitive / Subject + action, um + nicht + zu-infinitive 14Main action + in order for + noun/object pronoun + to-infinitiveGFH014 · Main action + in order for + noun/object pronoun + to-infinitive / Main action, damit + different subject + subordinate clause 15Subject + be + the ordinal/last + noun + to be + passive participleGFH015 · Subject + be + the ordinal/last + noun + to be + passive participle / Subject + sein + definite ordinal noun, passive relative clause 16Main clause + noun/pronoun + to + infinitive phrase + required prepositionGFH016 · Main clause + noun/pronoun + to + infinitive phrase + required preposition / Main clause + noun/pronoun + relative clause with preposition 17Subject + have/has/had no choice but to + infinitiveGFH017 · Subject + have/has/had no choice but to + infinitive / Subject + haben + keine andere Wahl, als + zu-infinitive 18Subject + would rather have + past participle + than + past participleGFH018 · Subject + would rather have + past participle + than + past participle / Subject + hätte(n)/wäre(n) lieber + participle, statt + zu-infinitive 19Subject + be + too + adjective + not to + infinitiveGFH019 · Subject + be + too + adjective + not to + infinitive / Subject + sein + zu + adjective, um + object + nicht zu + infinitive 20Main clause + whether to + infinitive + or + parallel infinitiveGFH020 · Main clause + whether to + infinitive + or + parallel infinitive / Main clause + ob + subject + infinitive + oder + infinitive + soll/sollen