German Prefixes

Blog 14 by Krisztina

Hallo followers,

Verb prefixes exist in most of the languages (probably in your own language too), however I think Germans are the master of how to create verbs with new meanings through the addition of prefixes. Prefixes are syllables, added to the beginning of a word to specify or modify its meaning.

If you have a look at the picture above you can ask: why does the verb “verkaufen” (to sell) function in a different way than the verb “einkaufen” (to do the shopping) in a sentence? They are both derived from the verb “kaufen” (to buy) however they function differently in different tenses. Why?

The answer is simple: because “verkaufen” has an inseparable prefix (untrennbare Präfixe) and “einkaufen” has a separable prefix (trennbare Präfixe).

As the name implies, inseparable prefixes (untrennbare Präfixen) have affixes at the start of the word that remain attached to the root in all conjugations and tenses. Also, in the perfect tense, they do not take the normal “ge“prefix; instead they keep their inseparable prefixes. The most common inseparable prefixes are: be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver- and zer-.

On the other hand, separable prefixes (trennbare Präfixen) are detached from the verb root in finite or inflected form. These are always stressed syllables and can stand as separate words. In the past participles of separable prefix verbs, the “-ge-“ prefix appears between the prefix and the verb root. The most common separable prefixes are: prepositions (e.g, ab, an, auf, aus, bei, mit, nach, statt, vor, zu) or adverbs (e.g., fort, los, nieder, vorbei, weg, zurück, zusammen).

Bis später!

Krisztina