Verbs with prefix in German
Learning Verbs with prefix in German follows a similar pattern to learning regular verbs. However, the prefixes can change the meaning of the verb and affect its conjugation. Here’s a general approach to learning verbs with prefixe:
Verbs with prefix in German
can be separable or inseparable. A separable prefix moves to the end of a sentence when the verb is conjugated.* For example, the mixed verb bringen (to bring) can add the separable prefix mit (with) to become the verb mitbringen (to bring along, bring with). Or add the separable prefix zu (to) to the weak verb hören (to hear) to make zuhören (to listen to):
- Ich bringe morgen meinen Freund mit.
- I’ll bring my friend along tomorrow.
- Sie hörte mir zu.
- She listened to me.
When the verb is not conjugated – when it’s used with a modal verb, for example – the prefix stays attached:
- Darf ich meinen Freund mitbringen?
May I bring my friend along? - Er will mir nicht zuhören.
He doesn’t want to listen to me.
At this point, you may be starting to think of English “phrasal” verbs like “take out the garbage,” which are similar in that the extra word can often be moved to the end of the sentence (“take the garbage out”) and even occasionally stuck onto the beginning (“the outtakes from the film”). These can be helpful in conceptualizing separable prefixes, but remember that they’re not quite the same thing grammatically.
Inseparable prefixes are more like English verb prefixes, although they don’t always have a direct English translation. Inseparable prefixes are never stressed in the pronunciation of the verb. There are nine major inseparable prefixes: be-, emp- ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver-, voll- and zer-.
Other than these nine, almost all other prefixes in German are separable. Separable prefixes are always stressed in pronouncing the verb. The most common ones are prepositions, like mit– (with) or zu– (to) above.
