German Phrase
Meine Aufgabe war, mich ums Marketing zu kümmern.
Meaning
The sentence states that the speaker’s responsibility in a previous role was to take care of all marketing‑related activities. It emphasizes the personal involvement (reflexive „mich“) and frames the duty as a past task.
When to use
Use this construction when you describe a former job responsibility on a résumé, in a job interview, or when recounting a project’s division of labor. It works well in formal or semi‑formal business contexts.
✦Grammar Breakdown
MeineAufgabewar,michumsMarketingzukümmern.
Possessive adjective
„Meine“ agrees with the feminine noun „Aufgabe“ in case, number and gender (Nominativ, Singular).
Simple past of sein
„war“ is the Präteritum of „sein“ and links the subject with the infinitive clause.
Reflexive pronoun
„mich“ is the accusative reflexive pronoun required by the verb „sich kümmern“.
Preposition + article contraction
„ums“ = „um das“; the preposition „um“ governs the accusative, here referring to the marketing area.
Infinitive with zu
After a past‑tense form of „sein“, German often uses an infinitive clause with „zu“ to express a purpose or duty.
Loanword handling
„Marketing“ is an English loanword, treated as a neuter noun (das Marketing) and declines only in the article.
🗨In Conversation
Was war deine Hauptverantwortung im letzten Projekt?
What was your main responsibility in the last project?
Meine Aufgabe war, mich ums Marketing zu kümmern.
My task was to take care of the marketing.
✕Common Mistakes
Ich war, mich um das Marketing zu kümmern.
The verb must be in the third person singular to match the subject „Meine Aufgabe“; also the clause needs a comma after „war“.
Meine Aufgabe war, mich um Marketing zu kümmern.
If you keep the article, the correct contraction is „ums“ (um das). Dropping the article entirely ("um Marketing") changes the meaning.
Meine Aufgabe war, ums Marketing zu kümmern mich.
The reflexive pronoun must precede the infinitive, not follow it.
↔Alternatives
Ich war für das Marketing verantwortlich.
I was responsible for the marketing.
Meine Zuständigkeit lag im Marketing.
My area of responsibility lay in marketing.
Ich kümmerte mich um das Marketing.
I took care of the marketing.
Cultural Tip
In German business communication, the reflexive construction „sich um … kümmern“ is preferred over a direct translation of English “to handle”. It conveys a sense of personal accountability. When using loanwords like „Marketing“, keep the article neuter (das Marketing) and avoid unnecessary declension – e.g., never say *„Marketinges“*.