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Eine Freundin ~~zu~~ haben

intended translation: To have a girlfriend

A corrector removed "zu" from the phrase I wrote. They said there is no usage of "zu" in titles. I find myself unconvinced with their explanation. Could someone give something more detailed?

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    What exactly is the context? Why is this a "title" -- what kind of title? As a title of a story or book, I agree that the statement sounds better without "zu" -- more open for different perspectives. In some other context, the "zu" is not even optional, as in "Es wäre gut, eine Freundin zu haben," where omitting the "zu" would be ungrammatical.
    – Heiko Jakubzik
    Commented Dec 29, 2022 at 17:24
  • Sort of a short story, yeah @HeikoJakubzik
    – Brian
    Commented Dec 30, 2022 at 9:10
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    Whether "zu" is required or not depends on the rest of the sentence. Without knowing it it's impossible to tell which is correct.
    – RHa
    Commented Dec 30, 2022 at 10:04
  • I don't have time for a full answer right now, but maybe the thought helps somebody else formulate one: I think it's about the "erweiterter Infinitiv mit 'zu'", which, to be properly invoked, would require a bit more complete structure than is given in a title like the one cited in the original post -- or indeed most other titles. There are some that get away with it, such as Schopenhauer's "Die Kunst, Recht zu behalten". You can enter "Die Kunst" or "Vom Glück" into an autocompleting search box in an online book store (Amazon comes to mind) and get suggestions for some titles that use "zu".
    – Jan
    Commented Feb 1, 2023 at 10:39
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    I'd say even in English "Having a girlfriend" is the better title
    – planetmaker
    Commented Feb 1, 2023 at 13:40

2 Answers 2

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German uses "zu" if an infinitive clause is used as part of a bigger grammatical construction, but not if it stands on it own. An infinitive clause is not a sentence in itself, as it does not have a predicate. So an infinitive clause that stands on it own is only acceptable in a context that doesn't require complete sentences. Titles are one example of a context that doesn't require a complete sentence. The example by Heiko Jakubzik "Es wäre gut, eine Freundin zu haben" uses "eine Freundin zu haben" as part of a bigger construction, so the "zu" is required. In this case, the bigger construction is a complete sentence, but that is not required. You can have a title like "The need to have a girlfriend", which would be "Die Notwendigkeit, eine Freundin zu haben" in German. A non-title example would be "Mein Ziel für das nächste Jahr: Weniger Alkohol Trinken." ("My goal for next year: To drink less alcohol.") Thus, I consider "no zu in a title" just as a rule of thumb, with its limits explored in this answer.

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    Good answer, but in your last example I would allow a “zu”, because “Ziel für nächstes Jahr ist, weniger Alkohol zu trinken” would also be correct.
    – Carsten S
    Commented Dec 30, 2022 at 16:29
  • @CarstenS Good addition: As you write it "weniger Alkohol zu trinken" is part of a complete sentence. If you spell it with the colon (as I did in the answer), the clause stands on its own. Both variants are grammatically correct. In an essay, I would expect your suggestion, the complete senctence. As a bullet point on a powerpoint slide, I would expect my suggestion.
    – Michael Karcher
    Commented Jan 1, 2023 at 10:35
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In the phrase "Eine Freundin zu haben," the infinitive "zu haben" means "to have." The infinitive "zu" is a particle that is used to form the infinitive of certain verbs. In this case, it is used to form the infinitive of the verb "haben", which means "to have."

It is correct that "zu" is not used in titles. Titles are typically short and to the point, and they do not typically include additional particles or infinitives. In this case, the title "Eine Freundin haben" (To have a girlfriend) would be more appropriate.

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