A2 · The verb: present tense and stem
Prefixes that never separate
be-, er-, ver-, ent-, zer-, ge-, emp-, miss-
Eight unstressed prefixes that stay attached and take no ge- in the participle.
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.
There are exactly eight inseparable prefixes and the list is closed: be-, er-, ver-, ent-, zer-, ge-, emp-, miss-. 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.
Die Form
| 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- |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
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.
Genauer hingesehen
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.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
a verb carries two prefixes
the outer one decides.
Ich bereite das Essen vor.I am preparing the meal.
Vorbereiten is separable although bereiten contains an inseparable prefix.
-
the verb ends in -ieren
the participle also takes no ge-.
Ich habe telefoniert.I made a phone call.
These are borrowed verbs stressed on the ending, and the same stress rule applies.
Woran man es erkennt
- be-
- er-
- ver-
- ent-
- zer-
- ge-
- emp-
- miss-
Beispielsätze
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.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
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 passiert?What happened?
Besonderheiten (2)
-
be- makes an intransitive verb transitive
The prefix <z>be-</z> often turns a verb that takes a preposition into one that takes a direct object: <z>antworten auf</z> becomes <z>beantworten</z>, <z>steigen auf</z> becomes <z>besteigen</z>, <z>sprechen über</z> becomes <z>besprechen</z>. It is one of the most productive patterns in the language.
-
ver- often means it went wrong
Beyond its ordinary uses, <z>ver-</z> with a reflexive marks a mistake: <z>sich verlaufen</z> to get lost, <z>sich verschreiben</z> to make a slip of the pen, <z>sich versprechen</z> to misspeak, <z>sich verwählen</z> to dial a wrong number. Four words English needs a phrase for.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
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.
be, er, ver, ent, zer, ge, emp, miss — no movement, no ge-.
Jetzt selbst
5 Aufgaben zu diesem Thema. Die Antworten werden im Browser geprüft; nichts davon verlässt Ihr Gerät.