B1-53 · Say what people do without or instead of something
Social networks
Use ohne … zu and statt … zu to talk about posting, friend requests and privacy settings on social networks.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Without doing something
Ohne … zu says that an action does not happen: Sie postet Fotos, ohne nachzudenken. The infinitive with zu goes to the end of the phrase, and a comma separates it from the main clause.
Lena installiert die App, ohne die Bedingungen zu lesen.
Lena installs the app without reading the terms.
Viele Leute posten Fotos, ohne lange nachzudenken.
Many people post photos without thinking for long.
Jonas nimmt Freundschaftsanfragen an, ohne die Profile zu prüfen.
Jonas accepts friend requests without checking the profiles.
Man kann die Plattform nutzen, ohne ein echtes Foto hochzuladen.
You can use the platform without uploading a real photo.
With separable verbs, zu goes between the prefix and the verb: nachzudenken, hochzuladen, anzunehmen. Die Plattform is a platform and die Freundschaftsanfrage a friend request.
02
Instead of doing something
Statt … zu, or anstatt … zu, says that someone does one thing instead of another. The action that does not happen goes in the zu-infinitive: Er chattet, statt zu lernen.
Murat schreibt Nachrichten, statt anzurufen.
Murat writes messages instead of calling.
Sofia schaut Videos, statt für die Prüfung zu lernen.
Sofia watches videos instead of studying for the exam.
Statt alles öffentlich zu teilen, schickt Paul Fotos nur an seine Familie.
Instead of sharing everything publicly, Paul only sends photos to his family.
Wir treffen uns lieber, anstatt nur online zu chatten.
We prefer to meet instead of only chatting online.
When the statt phrase comes first, the verb of the main clause follows it directly, then the subject: Statt zu chatten, rufe ich an. Öffentlich means public; teilen means to share.
03
Privacy settings
Compare three zu-phrases. Um … zu gives a purpose, ohne … zu an action that does not happen, and statt … zu an action that is replaced by another. All three put zu and the infinitive at the end.
| Meaning | Example |
|---|---|
| purpose | um das Profil zu schützen |
| action that does not happen | ohne das Profil zu prüfen |
| action that is replaced | statt das Profil zu prüfen |
Ändere deine Privatsphäre-Einstellungen, um dein Profil zu schützen.
Change your privacy settings to protect your profile.
Teile keine Fotos von anderen, ohne sie vorher zu fragen.
Don't share photos of other people without asking them first.
Statt das Konto zu löschen, macht Tim sein Profil privat.
Instead of deleting the account, Tim makes his profile private.
Nora meldet den Kommentar, statt ihn zu beantworten.
Nora reports the comment instead of answering it.
Die Privatsphäre-Einstellungen are the privacy settings, das Konto is the account and melden means to report. Use these phrases when both parts have the same subject.
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