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Is there a general word to describe a sentence part, such as a relative clause, but also an infinitive clause?

Gibt es ein allgemeines Wort, um Satzteile – zum Beispiel einen Relativsatz, aber auch einen erweiterten Infintiv – zu beschreiben?

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Do you mean one word to describe them both, or one word that describes the group of sentences they belong to? – Florian Peschka May 25 '11 at 9:02
Should the word also describe "um Satzteil" in your translation? – Tim N May 25 '11 at 9:03
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@ApoY2: Is there a difference? – Eldros May 25 '11 at 9:03
@Tim: not really, it should reather both describe part of the sentence that would make more or less sense when taken outside of its context. – Eldros May 25 '11 at 9:05
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@Tom: well I could narrow the definition so: a sentence part, delimited by commas, centered around a verb and making sense. I would have added that they should have a subject, but infinitive clause doesn't have any, although I think it is implied. – Eldros May 25 '11 at 9:24
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2 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

The only word that comes to my mind is Teilsatz.

Wikipedia (de):

Unter Teilsatz versteht man jede Wortfolge innerhalb eines Satzes, in dem neben einem Hauptsatz entweder mindestens ein weiterer Hauptsatz oder ein Nebensatz enthalten ist. Jeder dieser Teile, „Hauptsatz“ und „Hauptsatz“ oder „Hauptsatz“ und „Nebensatz“, ist für den gesamten Satz ein Teilsatz. Selbstverständlich können in einem Satz auch mehr Haupt- oder Nebensätze enthalten sein.

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up vote 1 down vote

Not quite. You can use "Nebensatz", but that wouldn't be correct for infinitive clauses. It might still be understood, though.

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