With this post I would like to start a series on German separable verbs. In this introductory post I explain how you can distinguish separable verbs from inseparable verbs.<\/p>\n
The main difference between separable and inseparable verbs is that separable verbs consist of two words: a core verb<\/em> and a semi-prefix<\/em>, whereas inseparable verbs consist of a core verb<\/em> and a real prefix<\/em>. Let\u2019s have a closer look at the some examples in order to explore what I mean by core verb<\/em>, semi-prefix<\/em> and real prefix<\/em>.<\/p>\n The verbs nehmen<\/em><\/strong> (to take), laufen<\/em><\/strong> (to walk), and geben<\/em><\/strong> (to give) are so called core verbs<\/em> because they form the basis of separable verbs. In order to modify their meanings you can add the following semi-prefixes<\/em> to them:<\/p>\n an<\/strong><\/span>–<\/p>\n a<\/strong><\/span>uf<\/strong><\/span>–<\/p>\n ab<\/strong><\/span>–<\/p>\n This results in the separable verbs below:<\/p>\n (to assume; to accept)<\/p>\n auf<\/strong><\/span>nehmen<\/p>\n (to gather; to host)<\/p>\n ab<\/strong><\/span>nehmen<\/p>\n (to take off, to loose weight)<\/td>\n (to start; to put into)<\/p>\n auf<\/span><\/strong>laufen<\/p>\n (to go aground)<\/p>\n ab<\/span><\/strong>laufen<\/p>\n (to expire)<\/td>\n (to boast; to state)<\/p>\n auf<\/strong><\/span>geben<\/p>\n (to give up)<\/p>\n ab<\/span><\/strong>geben<\/p>\n (to hand in, to emit)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n I should mention that the meaning of each separable verb does highly depend on the context in which it is used, thus, I only give the translations, which I consider most common.<\/p>\n I call the prefixes of separable verbs semi-prefixes<\/em> because these prefixes are indeed independent words in German. That is, they can and do exist as separate words. Consequently, you can isolate them from the core verb<\/em> when using them in a sentence. These semi-prefixes<\/em> are always prepositions<\/strong>, adverbs<\/strong> or adjectives<\/strong>. \u2013 I will discuss all kinds of semi-prefixes <\/em>in detail in my following posts.<\/p>\n In comparison to separable verbs, inseparable verbs have real prefixes<\/em>. That is, these prefixes canNOT and do NOT exist as independent words in German \u2013 because they have no meaning. Consequently, you cannot separate them from the core verb<\/em> when using them in a sentence. Compare these examples:<\/p>\n ver<\/span><\/strong><\/span>–<\/p>\n be<\/strong><\/span>–<\/p>\n (to question)<\/p>\n b<\/strong><\/span>e<\/strong><\/span>nehmen<\/p>\n (to behave)<\/td>\n (to get lost)<\/p>\n sich<\/em> be<\/span><\/strong>laufen<\/p>\n (to tot up)<\/td>\n (to allot, to forgive)<\/p>\n be<\/span><\/strong>geben<\/p>\n (to betake)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Whenever you come across a verb that contains one of the following prefixes, you may be sure that it is an INSEPARABLE verb:<\/p>\n be- : be<\/strong>kommen (to get), be<\/strong>l\u00fcgen (to lie to), be<\/strong>raten (to advise)<\/p>\n ent- : ent<\/strong>gehen (to evade), ent<\/strong>stehen (to emerge), ent<\/strong>sprechen (to correspond)<\/p>\n er- : er<\/strong>kl\u00e4ren (to explain), er<\/strong>halten (to obtain), er<\/strong>kennen (to realize; to recognize)<\/p>\n ge- : ge<\/strong>brauchen (to apply), ge<\/strong>h\u00f6ren (to belong), ge<\/strong>fallen (tp please, to like)<\/p>\n miss- : miss<\/strong>achten (disregard), miss<\/strong>handeln (to abuse), miss<\/strong>trauen (to distrust)<\/p>\n ver- : ver<\/strong>kaufen (to sell), ver<\/strong>sprechen (to promise; to make a slip of the tongue), ver<\/strong>suchen (to try)<\/p>\n zer- : zer<\/strong>brechen (to shatter), zer<\/strong>st\u00f6ren (to destroy), zer<\/strong>schlagen (to dash to pieces)<\/p>\n To be continued \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With this post I would like to start a series on German separable verbs. In this introductory post I explain how you can distinguish separable verbs from inseparable verbs. The main difference between separable and inseparable verbs is that separable verbs consist of two words: a core verb and a semi-prefix, whereas inseparable verbs consist…<\/p>\nSeparable verbs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n an<\/span><\/strong>nehmen<\/p>\n an<\/span><\/strong>laufen<\/p>\n an<\/span><\/strong>geben<\/p>\n Inseparable verbs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n ver<\/span><\/strong>nehmen<\/p>\n ver<\/span><\/strong>l<\/span>aufen<\/p>\n ver<\/span><\/strong>geben<\/p>\n