Verbs with separable and inseparable prefixes

Different types of prefixes

Many verbs in German consist of a main verb and a prefix: ankommen ‘to arrive’, verkaufen ‘to sell’, übersetzen ‘to translate’/‘to ferry over’. 

There are three different types of prefixes in German:

• separable prefixes which – as the name suggests – can exist separately from the main          verb;

• inseparable prefixes which are fixed to the verb;

• variable prefixes which can either be separable or inseparable.

Separable verbs

List of commonly used separable prefixes

Separable verbs are used frequently in German. Here is a list of common prefixes together with one possible combination as an example:

ab- abfahren               to depart (by vehicle)
an- anrufen                 to telephone
auf- aufmachen          to open
aus- ausgehen           to go out
bei- beitreten              to join (an organisation)
ein- einkaufen            to shop
fest- festnehmen        to take into custody
her- herkommen        to come (from somewhere)
hin- hinsetzen            to sit down
mit- mitmachen          to join in
statt-stattfinden          to take place
vor- vorbereiten         to prepare
weg-wegbringen        to take away
zu- zulegen                to put on
zurück- zurückgeben to return (something)
zusammen- zusammenzählen to add up

Here are some of them in use:

Sie gehen heute Abend aus.                             They are going out tonight

Die Wahlen fanden letzten September statt.   The election took place last September.

Separable verbs do not always split up

Separable verbs can – as the name indicates – split into two parts. However, they also appear as one word in certain constructions.

When to separate

A separable verb splits when it is the only verb in a main clause. This applies to the following structures. Note that the prefix appears in the final position:

present tense         Er ruft seine Freundin um 8 Uhr an.  He calls his girlfriend at 8 o’clock.

simple past tense   Ich kam am Dienstag zurück.             I returned on Tuesday.

imperative              Steh sofort auf !                                   Get/Stand up at once! 

When not to separate

Separable verbs appear as one word and in the infinitive with modal verbs and the future tense:

Er muss seine Freundin anrufen.              He has to call his girlfriend.

Ich werde am Dienstag zurückkommen.   I’ll return on Tuesday.

In most subordinate clauses, the separable verb moves to the last position and does not split up. Its ending must agree with the subject of the clause:

Sag mir, wann du ankommst.        

Tell me when you’ll arrive.

Ich verstehe nicht, warum er sich immer so aufregt.

 I don’t understand why he always gets so upset.

Past participles

The past participle of separable verbs is normally formed by inserting -ge- between the prefix and the main verb: ankommen ® angekommen.

Verbs with inseparable prefixes

List of commonly used inseparable prefixes
There are also a number of prefixes which never detach themselves from the main verb. They include:

be-	besuchen	to visit
emp-	empfinden	to feel
ent-	entleeren	to empty
er-	erzählen	to tell (a story)
ge-	gehören	to belong
miss-	missachten	to disregard
ver-	verlieren	to lose
zer-	zerstören	to destroy

Here are some of them in use:

Sie besuchen ihre Eltern fast jedes Wochenende.

They visit their parents almost every weekend.

Erzähl uns noch eine Geschichte!

Tell us another story!

Dieses Buch gehört Martin.

This book belongs to Martin. 

Past participles 

Verbs with inseparable prefixes don’t add ge- when forming their past participle: 

Sie hat das nicht bereut.                         She hasn’t regretted it.

Paul hat gestern seinen Pass verloren. Paul lost his passport yesterday. 

Verbs with variable prefixes

There are also some prefixes which can either be separable or insepar- able. They include:

durch-	durchlassen (sep.) durchdenken (insep.)	to let through    to think through
über-	überkochen (sep.) übernachten (insep.)	to boil over to stay overnight
um-	umfallen (sep.) umarmen (insep.)	to fall over to embrace
unter-	untergehen (sep.) unterrichten (insep.)	to sink to teach
wieder-	wiedersehen (sep.) wiederholen (insep.)	to see again to repeat
wider-	widerspiegeln (sep.) widersprechen (insep.)	to reflect    to contradict

How to spot the difference

A way of identifying a separable or inseparable prefix is to see where the stress falls:
• if the verb is separable, the stress usually falls on the prefix: durch-
  fallen, überkochen, umfallen, untergehen, wiedersehen, widerspiegeln;
• if the verb is inseparable, the stress falls on the main verb: durchdenken, übernachten,        umarmen, unterrichten, wiederholen, widersprechen.

Same word, different meanings

A few verbs exist as a separable as well as an inseparable verb. Although the prefix is the same, their meaning and stress differ:

Separable                                    Inseparable
übersetzen      to ferry across       übersetzen    to translate
überziehen      to put/pull on         überziehen    to overdraw (account)
umschreiben   to rewrite               umschreiben  to paraphrase

The above separable forms often convey the literal meaning of the verb, while the inseparable forms usually have a more figurative meaning:

Das Boot setzt über.                      The boat ferries across.
Marco übersetzt einen Text.          Marco is translating a text.
Sie hat ihre Jacke übergezogen.   She has put on her jacket.
Sie hat ihr Konto überzogen.         She has overdrawn her account.