Separable Verbs

Separable Verbs 

In German, prefixes can be added to the start of a verb, in order to change the verb’s meaning. These verbs can have inseparable prefixes, where the prefix stays attached to the verb in all cases, or separable prefixes, where the prefix moves to the end of the sentence or phrase in some cases.  

Present Tense 

For example, in the sentence 

‘Ich sehe sehr gut aus’  

Aussehen is the verb, and since the sentence is in present tense, the prefix ‘aus’ is moved to the very end of the sentence. 

Another example is 

‘Ich trete einem Klub bei’ 

In this sentence, beitreten is the verb, and as it is in present tense, the prefix is sent to the end of the sentence.  

Past Perfect 

In past perfect tense, the prefix stays at the beginning of the verb, and ‘ge’ is added between the prefix and the verb 

For example, 

‘Ich habe sehr gut ausgesehen 

In this sentance, aussehen is once again the verb, but since it is in past perfect tense, ‘ge’ has been added between ‘aus’ and ‘sehen’. 

Another example is 

‘Ich habe einem Klub beigetreten’ 

In this sentence, beitreten is the verb, and since it is in past perfect, the prefix and verb is separated by ‘ge’. 

Future Tense 

In future tense, the prefix stays attached to the verb as it is in infinitive form. 

For example, 

‘Ich werde sehr gut aussehen‘ 

Aussehen is the infinitive verb, and therefore is keeps its prefix of ‘aus’. 

Another example is 

‘Ich werde einem Klub beitreten’ 

In infinitive form, the verb beitreten keeps its prefix.’ 

Past Imperfect 

The only other tense where the verb and its prefix is separated is in past imperfect.  

For example, 

‘Ich sah sehr gut aus’ 

Sah is the first person past imperfect form of sehen, and it is seperated from its prefix ‘aus’. 

Another example is 

‘Ich trat einem Klub bei’ 

Trat is the first person past imperfect form of treten, and since it is in past imperfect, it is separated from its prefix ‘bei’. 

Separable Prefixes 

Only some verb prefixes are separable, with durch being the only prefix that can be both separable and inseparable. These are shown in the table below, along with their meanings and examples of verbs that utilize these prefixes. 

Prefix	Meaning of Prefix	Example Verbs	Meaning of Verb
Ab-	from	abkommen	get away
An-	at, to	anfangen	start, begin
Auf-	on, out, up, un-	aufkommen	arise, spring up
Aus-	out, from	aussehen	appear, look like
Bei-	along, with	beitreten	join
Durch-	through	durchfahren	drive through
Ein-	in, into, inward, down	eingehen	enter, sink in, be received
Fort-	away, forth, onward	forttreiben	drive away
Mit-	along, with, co-	mitarbeiten	cooperate, collaborate
Nach-	after, copy, re-	nachgehen	follow, go after
Vor-	before, forward, pre-, pro-	vorbereiten	prepare
Weg-	away, off	wegfahren	leave, drive off
Zu-	shut/closed, to, towards, upon	zubringen	bring/take to
Zurück	back, re-	zurückgehen	go back, return
Zusammen-	together	zusammenfassen	summerise

Prefixes change the meaning, depending on their meaning.  

For example, the verb ‘sehen’ on its own means to see, with an example sentence being 

‘Ich sehe die Katze’ (I see the cat) 

However, the prefix ‘aus’ can be added to sehen to make aussehen, which means ‘to look like’. For example, 

‘Ich sehe wie eine Katze aus’ (I look like a cat) 

Another example is the verb treten, which means to kick, with an example sentence being 

‘Ich trete den Ball’ (I kick the ball) 

However, the prefix ‘bei’ can be added to it to make beitreten, which means to join. For example, 

‘Ich trete der Gruppe bei’ (I join the group) 

Inseparable Verbs 

Inseperable verbs keep their prefix no matter what tense they are in. 

For example, 

‘Meine Katze gefällt mir’ 

Gefallen is the verb, and since it has an inseperable prefix, it keeps its prefix attached to the verb, no matter what tense it is in.  

Bibliography 

Flippo, H 2016, German's Seperable-Prefix Verbs, ThoughtCo, accessed 8 August 2017, https://www.thoughtco.com/germans-separable-prefix-verbs-4069187 

Separable and Inseparable Prefixes n.d., accessed 8 August 2017, http://www.nthuleen.com/teach/grammar/sepinsepprefixexpl.html 

Separable Verbs 2017, Lingolia, accessed 8 August 2017, https://deutsch.lingolia.com/en/grammar/verbs/separable-verbs  

Separable Verbs n.d., Deutsched, accessed 8 August 2017, http://www.deutsched.com/Grammar/Lessons/0107separableverbs.php