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German Phrase

Ich habe als Kind angefangen zu sammeln.

/ɪç ˈhaːbə als kɪnt ˈʔanfanɡən tsu ˈzaml̩ən/
Meaning"I started collecting as a child."
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Meaning

The speaker is saying that they began the hobby of collecting when they were a child. It emphasizes the origin of a long‑standing interest.

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When to use

Use this sentence when you want to talk about a pastime or habit that started in your childhood, especially in a conversation about hobbies, memories, or personal history.

✦Grammar Breakdown

IchhabealsKindangefangenzusammeln

1

Perfekt with haben

The perfect tense for most verbs uses 'haben' as the auxiliary; here 'habe' forms the perfect of 'anfangen'.

2

Temporal clause with 'als'

'Als' introduces a point in time in the past (as a child) and is followed by a noun without article.

3

'anfangen' + zu‑Infinitiv

'Anfangen' (to start) is followed by the infinitive marker 'zu' and the infinitive verb.

4

Infinitive marker 'zu'

'Zu' is placed directly before the infinitive verb and is required after many verbs of motion or beginning.

5

Verb placement in perfect

In perfect constructions the past participle ('angefangen') stands at the end of the clause, after the infinitive phrase.

🗨In Conversation

A

Hast du schon immer etwas gesammelt?

Have you always collected something?

Ja, ich habe als Kind angefangen zu sammeln.

Yes, I started collecting as a child.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Ich war als Kind angefangen zu sammeln.

    The auxiliary for 'anfangen' is 'haben', not 'sein'.

  • Ich habe angefangen zu sammeln als Kind.

    While understandable, the usual word order places the temporal phrase before the verb.

  • Ich habe als Kind angefangen sammeln zu.

    The infinitive marker 'zu' must precede the infinitive verb, not follow it.

↔Alternatives

  • Ich begann schon als Kind zu sammeln.

    I began collecting already as a child.

  • Schon als Kind fing ich an zu sammeln.

    Even as a child I started to collect.

  • Als Kind habe ich mit dem Sammeln angefangen.

    As a child I started collecting.

de

Cultural Tip

In German, the perfect tense (Perfekt) is the default past tense in spoken language, even for actions that happened years ago. Using 'als' for a specific past moment (e.g., 'als Kind') is more natural than 'wenn' which would imply a repeated condition. Also, 'anfangen zu' is a very common way to express the start of an activity, similar to English 'to start to…'.