German Phrase
Meine Aufgabe war, es zu korrigieren.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘My task was to correct it.’ It states a past responsibility or duty, emphasizing the specific action that had to be performed.
When to use
Use this construction when you want to describe a former job, assignment, or duty that involved a concrete action. It is common in reports, résumés, or when explaining what you were responsible for in a project.
✦Grammar Breakdown
MeineAufgabewar,eszukorrigieren.
Possessive Pronoun
‘Meine’ is the feminine singular form of the possessive pronoun ‘mein’, agreeing with the noun ‘Aufgabe’.
Noun Gender & Case
‘Aufgabe’ is a feminine noun in the nominative case; the article is omitted because the possessive pronoun already marks the case.
Preterite of ‘sein’
‘war’ is the simple past (Präteritum) of ‘sein’, used here to describe a past state or duty.
Infinitive Clause with ‘zu’
After ‘war’ you can attach a ‘zu‑Infinitiv’ clause to express what the task consisted of. The infinitive ‘korrigieren’ is preceded by ‘zu’.
Pronoun ‘es’
‘es’ is a placeholder object referring to whatever needs correcting; it must stay in the clause before the infinitive.
Comma Placement
German requires a comma before an infinitive clause that is expanded (here ‘es zu korrigieren’).
🗨In Conversation
Was war deine Aufgabe im Projekt?
What was your task in the project?
Meine Aufgabe war, es zu korrigieren.
My task was to correct it.
✕Common Mistakes
Meine Aufgabe war es zu korrigieren.
Missing comma before the infinitive clause; German requires a comma when the infinitive is expanded with its own object.
Meine Aufgabe war, zu korrigieren es.
Word order in the infinitive clause is fixed: pronoun ‘es’ must precede ‘zu’ and the infinitive.
Meine Aufgabe war, es korrigieren.
The ‘zu’ is mandatory in an infinitive clause after ‘war’; without it the sentence is ungrammatical.
↔Alternatives
Ich sollte es korrigieren.
I was supposed to correct it.
Meine Aufgabe bestand darin, es zu korrigieren.
My task consisted of correcting it.
Ich war dafür verantwortlich, es zu korrigieren.
I was responsible for correcting it.
Cultural Tip
The ‘zu‑Infinitiv’ clause after ‘war’ sounds formal and is typical in written German, especially in reports or academic contexts. In everyday spoken German people often replace it with a modal verb: ‘Ich musste es korrigieren.’ Both are correct, but the infinitive construction adds a slightly more precise, neutral tone.