A2 · The verb: present tense and stem
Inseparable verbs: be-, ver-
be-, er-, ver-, ent-, zer-, ge-, emp-, miss-
Eight unstressed prefixes that stay attached and take no ge- in the participle.
At a glance
- Remember
- be, er, ver, ent, zer, ge, emp, miss — no movement, no ge-.
- Form
- bekommen — ich habe bekommenbe-
- Signal words
- be-
- er-
- ver-
- ent-
- zer-
- ge-
- emp-
- miss-
- Trap
- Wrong:Ich stehe die Frage nicht ver. — Ich habe es gevergessen.Right:Ich verstehe die Frage nicht. — Ich habe es vergessen.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in German. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker person ending auxiliary verb negation
| be- | bekommen — ich habe bekommen |
| er- | erklären — ich habe erklärt |
| ver- | verstehen — ich habe verstanden |
| ent- | entscheiden — ich habe entschieden |
| zer-, ge-, emp-, miss- | zerstören, gehören, empfehlen, missverstehen |
| participle | bekommen, erklärt, verstanden — nie mit ge- |
| I understand | ich verstehe |
| you understand (du) | du verstehst |
| he / she / it understands | er / sie / es versteht |
| we understand | wir verstehen |
| you understand (ihr) | ihr versteht |
| they / you (Sie) understand | sie / Sie verstehen |
| I have understood | ich habe verstanden |
| you have understood (du) | du hast verstanden |
| he / she / it has understood | er / sie / es hat verstanden |
| we have understood | wir haben verstanden |
| you have understood (ihr) | ihr habt verstanden |
| they / you (Sie) have understood | sie / Sie haben verstanden |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The eight inseparable prefixes never move.
Ich verstehe die Frage nicht.I do not understand the question.
Their participle takes no ge-.
Er hat den Termin vergessen.He forgot the appointment.
The stress falls on the stem, not on the prefix.
besuchen, erzählen, verkaufento visit, to tell, to sell
With zu, the zu stands in front as a separate word.
Es ist schwer zu verstehen.It is hard to understand.
Example sentences
Ich habe deine Nachricht bekommen.I got your message.
Sie hat alles erklärt.She explained everything.
Wir haben das Haus verkauft.We sold the house.
Er hat sich entschieden.He has decided.
Das gehört mir nicht.That is not mine.
6 more example sentences
Sie hat mir das empfohlen.She recommended that to me.
Das Gebäude wurde zerstört.The building was destroyed.
Ich habe ihn missverstanden.I misunderstood him.
Wir besuchen sie am Wochenende.We are visiting her at the weekend.
Er hat die Rechnung bezahlt.He paid the bill.
Was ist geschehen?What happened?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Two mistakes, one cause: treating an inseparable prefix as if it were separable. The verb does not split, so nothing flies to the end; and the participle takes no ge-, so vergessen is already the participle and adding one produces a word that does not exist. The eight-prefix list is short enough that this is worth simply memorising.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
German verb prefixes come in two kinds. Separable ones are stressed and fly to the end of the sentence: ANrufen → Ich rufe dich an. Inseparable ones are unstressed, never move, and form their participle without ge-: verSTEHen → Ich habe verstanden.
The core list has eight inseparable prefixes: be-, er-, ver-, ent-, zer-, ge-, emp-, miss- (a rarer one, hinter- in hinterlassen, also stays attached). Learning those eight settles every verb in the language, because anything else that looks like a prefix is either separable or one of the handful that can be both.
The stress is the reliable test and it works in speech without any list at all. If the prefix carries the stress, it separates; if the stem does, it does not. ÜBERsetzen is to ferry somebody across a river and separates; überSETZen is to translate and does not — same spelling, two verbs, told apart entirely by where the stress falls.
A closer look
The prefixes that go both ways
Six prefixes can be either: durch-, über-, um-, unter-, wieder-, wider-. Which one a given verb uses is fixed and carries a difference in meaning, usually literal against figurative. Ich setze ihn über is ferrying him across; ich übersetze den Text is translating it.
The same split runs through umfahren — to drive round something, inseparable, or to knock something down, separable — which is the standard example in German schools precisely because the two meanings are nearly opposite. In speech the stress makes it clear at once; in writing the word order does.
Exceptions and special cases2
Exception
When a verb carries two prefixes
then the outer one decides.
Ich bereite das Essen vor.I am preparing the meal.
Why? Vorbereiten is separable although bereiten contains an inseparable prefix.
Exception
When the verb ends in -ieren
then the participle also takes no ge-.
Ich habe telefoniert.I made a phone call.
Why? These are borrowed verbs stressed on the ending, and the same stress rule applies.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
be- makes an intransitive verb transitive
The prefix be- often turns a verb that takes a preposition into one that takes a direct object: antworten auf becomes beantworten, steigen auf becomes besteigen, sprechen über becomes besprechen. It is one of the most productive patterns in the language.
Worth knowing
ver- often means it went wrong
Beyond its ordinary uses, ver- with a reflexive marks a mistake: sich verlaufento get lostsich verschreibento make a slip of the pensich versprechento misspeaksich verwählento dial a wrong number Four words English needs a phrase for.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: haben · sein · hören · entscheiden · erklären · verstehen · erzählen · vergessen