Form(an)statt (…) zu + Infinitiv | (an)statt dass + Subjekt … Verb
Meaning and usage
statt … zu or anstatt … zu means instead of doing something. It is built like um … zu: statt opens the clause and the zu-infinitive closes it. Statt zur Schule zu gehen, blieb er zu Hause. Lass uns nach Hause gehen, statt hier zu essen. statt and anstatt mean the same.
The clause can come first or second, and its subject is the subject of the main clause. When the subjects differ, use statt dass with a full clause: Statt dass du kochst, koche heute ich. A common mistake is leaving out zu: statt zur Schule gehen.
Examples 4
Lass uns nach Hause gehen, statt hier zu essen!
Instead of eating here, let's go home.
Statt zur Schule zu gehen, blieb er zu Hause.
Instead of going to school, he stayed at home.
Statt an Land zu gehen, blieben wir auf dem Schiff.
Instead of going ashore, we stayed on the ship.
Sie riet ihm zu gehen, anstatt den Bus zu nehmen.
She advised him to walk instead of taking a bus.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Er spielt am Computer, statt seine Hausaufgaben .
Show answer
Correct answer: zu machen
statt … zu means instead of doing; the zu-infinitive closes the clause: statt seine Hausaufgaben zu machen.
- zu macht After zu the verb stays in the infinitive.
- machen Without zu the clause does not work; statt needs a zu-infinitive.
- gemacht is a participle; the clause needs zu + infinitive.
In this topic: um … zu and damit
- um … zu um … zu: in order to
- damit … Verb damit: so that, with its own subject
- um … zu / damit same subject: um … zu; different subject: damit
- ohne … zu / ohne dass ohne … zu: without doing something
- (an)statt … zu (an)statt … zu: instead of doing something
- zu jung, um … zu too … to, enough to: zu …, um … zu
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.