Verb prefixes in the present tense - Easy Learning Grammar German
What is a phrasal verb?
In English, words such as up or down can be used with verbs to create new verbs with an entirely different meaning. These are called phrasal verbs.
In English, words such as up or down can be used with verbs to create new verbs with an entirely different meaning. These are called phrasal verbs.
| get → get up → get down put → put up → put down shut → shut up → shut down |
- In German there is a similar system, but the words are put before the infinitive and joined to it:
- Prefixes can be found in strong, weak and mixed verbs. Some prefixes are always joined to the verb and never separated from it – these are called inseparable prefixes. However, the majority are separated from the verb in certain tenses and forms, and come at the end of the sentence. They are called separable prefixes.
1 Inseparable prefixes
- There are eight inseparable prefixes in German, highlighted in the table of common inseparable verbs below:
| Inseparable Verb | Meaning | Inseparable Verb | Meaning | Inseparable Verb | Meaning | Inseparable Verb | Meaning |
| beschreiben | to describe | enttäuschen | to disappoint | gehören | to belong | verlieren | to lose |
| empfangen | to receive | erhalten | to preserve | misstrauen | to mistrust | zerlegen | to dismantle |
- Note that when you pronounce an inseparable verb, the stress is NEVER on the inseparable prefix:
| Das darf ich wirklich nicht vergessen. | I really mustn’t forget that. |
2 Separable prefixes
- There are many separable prefixes in German and some of them are highlighted in the table below which shows a selection of the most common separable verbs:
| Separable Verb | Meaning | Separable Verb | Meaning |
| abfahren | to leave | mitmachen | to join in |
| ankommen | to arrive | nachgeben | to give way/in |
| aufstehen | to get up | vorziehen | to prefer |
| ausgehen | to go out | weglaufen | to run away |
| einsteigen | to get on | zuschauen | to watch |
| feststellen | to establish/see | zurechtkommen | to manage |
| freihalten | to keep free | zurückkehren | to return |
| herkommen | to come (here) | zusammenpassen | to be well-suited; |
| hinlegen | to put down | to go well together |
| Der Zug fährt in zehn Minuten ab. | The train is leaving in ten minutes. |
| Ich stehe jeden Morgen früh auf. | I get up early every morning. |
| Sie gibt niemals nach. | She’ll never give in. |
3 Word order with separable prefixes
- In tenses consisting of one verb part only, for example the present and the imperfect, the separable prefix is placed at the end of the main clause.
| Der Bus kam immer spät an. | The bus was always late. |
- For more information on Separable prefixes in the perfect tense, see The perfect tense.
- In subordinate clauses, the prefix is attached to the verb, which is then placed at the end of the subordinate clause.
| Weil der Bus spät ankam, verpasste sie den Zug. | Because the bus arrived late, she missed the train. |
- For more information on Subordinate clauses, see Word order.
- In infinitive phrases using zu, the zu is inserted between the verb and its prefix to form one word.
| Um rechtzeitig aufzustehen, muss ich den Wecker stellen. | In order to get up on time I’ll have to set the alarm. |
- For more information on the Infinitive, see The infinitive.
4 Verb combinations
- Below you will see some other types of word which can be combined with verbs. These combinations are mostly written as two separate words and behave like separable verbs:
- Noun + verb combinations
| Ski fahren | to ski |
| Ich fahre gern Ski. | I like skiing |
| Schlittschuh laufen | to ice-skate |
| Im Winter kann man Schlittschuh laufen. | You can ice-skate in winter. |
- Infinitive + verb combinations
| kennenlernen | to meet or to get to know |
| Meine Mutter möchte dich kennenlernen. | My mother wants to meet you. |
| Er lernt sie nie richtig kennen. | He’ll never get to know her properly. |
| sitzen bleiben | to remain seated |
| Bleiben Sie bitte sitzen. | Please remain seated. |
| spazieren gehen | to go for a walk |
| Er geht jeden Tag spazieren. | He goes for a walk every day. |
- Other adjective + verb combinations
| bekannt machen | to announce |
| Die Regierung will das morgen bekannt machen. | The government plans to announce it tomorrow. |
- Some adverb + verb combinations
| kaputt machen | to break |
| Mach mir bloß mein Fahrrad nicht kaputt! | Don’t you dare break my bike! |
- Verb combinations with -seits
| abseitsstehen | to stand apart |
| Sie steht immer abseits von den anderen. | She always stands apart from the others. |
- Prefix combinations with sein
| auf sein | to be open or to be up |
| Das Fenster ist auf. | The window is open. |
| Die Geschäfte sind am Sonntag nicht auf. | The shops are closed on Sundays. |
| Sie ist noch nicht auf. | She isn’t up yet. |
| zu sein | to be shut |
| Das Fenster ist zu. | The window is shut. |
- Note that auf (meaning open) is another word for geöffnet and zu (meaning shut or closed) is another word for geschlossen.
Key points
- Prefixes can be found in strong, weak and mixed verbs.
- Eight prefixes are inseparable and are never separated from the verb.
- Most prefixes are separable and are separated from the verb in certain tenses and forms and come at the end of the sentence.