The correct English translation for ... gegangen zu sein

Deutsch
#1

I need confirmation about the correct translation of these 2 sentences:

Ich bin froh, dass ich in die Berge gegangen bin.
This is clear, the translation is: “I am happy that I went to the mountains” (all good here)

But you can build the same sentence without using “dass” but instead with “zu”

Ich bin froh, in die Berge gegangen zu sein.
If this is the same sentence as the first one, then the translation would be the same “I’m happy that I went to the mountains” … but I believe that a better translation would be:
“I am happy that I had been to the mountains”

How is it?

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#2

Hello Costi,

This is a very good questions. Let me try to help you out.

„Ich bin froh, dass ich in die Berge gegangen bin." = „Ich bin froh, in die Berge gegangen zu sein."
Therefore the translation for both is, as you said, the following. “I am happy that I went to the
mountains.”
In German there are two possibilities to express the same thing. There is no difference in semantic meaning.

The phrase “I’m happy that I had been to the mountains.” however depicts a difference in semantic meaning. The tense is different. In German, a possible translation could look like this:
„Ich bin froh, dass ich in die Berge gegangen war."

Now, the context is very crucial for translations. So if you have more context, I can definitely see whether another option is more adequate.

If you have more questions, concerns, or doubts, let me know :wink:

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#3

Thanks, Sarah, for your explanation.
All clear now!

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#4

Just want to agree with everything @Sarah.Malmberg answered - there is no difference in meaning. The difference would be the same as in the English translations:

  • Ich bin froh, dass ich in die Berge gegangen bin.
    = I am glad that I went to the mountains.
  • Ich bin froh, in die Berge gegangen zu sein.
    = I am happy to have gone to the mountains.

You would need to check the tense you are writing in and then choose the tense for this sentence. Even if the meaning is the same, I would use each in a slightly different contextual setting when writing. One version might sound a bit more recent, for example, while one might be more natural when quoting a person speaking :slight_smile:

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