German separable verbs: rules, list and exercises

Separable verbs in German: what are they?

Separable verbs consist of a prefix and a base verb: an + rufen = anrufen (to call), auf + stehen = aufstehen (to get up), teil + nehmen = teilnehmen (to take part). In the infinitive they are written as one word. In a main clause in the present and simple past, however, the prefix splits off and goes to the end of the sentence:

• Ich rufe den Kunden morgen an. (I’ll call the client tomorrow.)
• Die Besprechung fängt um zehn Uhr an. (The meeting starts at ten.)
• Wir nahmen letztes Jahr an der Messe in Nürnberg teil. (We took part in the trade fair in Nuremberg last year.)

This takes some getting used to, because the prefix often changes the whole meaning. Ich stelle means I put, while ich stelle … ein can mean I hire or I adjust. If you do not listen to the end of a long sentence, you may understand the exact opposite: Wir nehmen Ihr Angebot … an (we accept your offer) or … nicht an (we do not accept it).

English speakers know a similar principle from phrasal verbs: call back, pick up, fill in. There, too, the particle sometimes separates from the verb: Please fill the form in. If you are interested in the parallel, see our article on phrasal verbs in English (in German). In our online German courses we practise separable verbs from the very beginning, because verbs such as aufstehen, einkaufen and anrufen are needed as early as level A1.

How can I recognise a separable verb when speaking?

Stress is a very reliable sign. With separable verbs, it falls on the prefix: ANrufen, AUFstehen, MITbringen. With inseparable verbs, it falls on the base verb: beKOMmen, verSTEhen, erKLÄren.

Separable and inseparable prefixes: the list

The separable prefixes are ab-, an-, auf-, aus-, bei-, ein-, fest-, fort-, her-, hin-, los-, mit-, nach-, vor-, weg-, weiter-, zu-, zurück- and zusammen-. The inseparable ones are be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver- and zer-. With durch-, über-, um-, unter-, wider- and wieder-, it depends on the meaning, as with übersetzen.

A memory aid for the inseparable prefixes

The eight inseparable prefixes be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver-, zer- are easiest to remember with a short German rhyme: “Be, ge, er, ver, zer, emp, ent, miss: bleiben fest, ganz gewiss.” (They stay put, that’s for sure.)

When a prefix can do both

With durch-, über-, um-, unter-, wieder-, whether the verb separates depends on the meaning. Usually the separable version is literal and the inseparable one figurative:

Word order with separable verbs: present, perfect, modal verbs and subordinate clauses

In a main clause in the present and simple past, the conjugated verb is in position 2 and the prefix goes to the end; in yes/no questions and the imperative, the verb is in position 1. In the perfect, ge sits between prefix and verb (angerufen), and the same goes for zu in the infinitive (anzurufen). With a modal verb and in subordinate clauses, the verb stays together at the end.

This table shows all the important cases using anrufen as an example:

The past participle: ge in the middle

With separable verbs, ge- goes between the prefix and the base verb: abgeholt, eingeladen, vorbereitet, teilgenommen. Inseparable verbs have no ge- at all: bestellt, verkauft, entschieden, erklärt. Whether the base verb is strong or weak stays the same: kommen – gekommen, so ankommen – angekommen. The forms of the strong base verbs are in our list of German irregular verbs.

The sentence bracket

The verb and the prefix form a bracket around the rest of the sentence, and this bracket can get long: Wir laden alle Mitarbeitenden aus den Standorten in München, Augsburg und Ansbach zur Weihnachtsfeier am 12. Dezember ein. (We are inviting all staff from our sites in Munich, Augsburg and Ansbach to the Christmas party on 12 December.) You can read more about the sentence bracket in our article on German word order.

List: the most important separable verbs for everyday life and work

You will need these 33 separable verbs particularly often in emails, phone calls and dealings with the authorities. Pay attention to the auxiliary verb in the perfect: verbs of movement such as ankommen or umziehen take sein. Learn each verb together with its example sentence rather than as an isolated word.

You will also meet many of these verbs in forms and letters from the authorities: Füllen Sie den Antrag vollständig aus. Reichen Sie die Unterlagen fristgerecht ein. Teilen Sie uns Änderungen umgehend mit. (Fill in the application in full. Submit the documents by the deadline. Inform us of any changes immediately.) What such phrases mean exactly is explained in our article on understanding official German.

How prefixes change the meaning: verb families with kommen, nehmen and stellen

A prefix can change the meaning of a base verb completely: stellen becomes einstellen (to hire), vorstellen (to introduce), ausstellen (to issue) and umstellen (to switch over), and nehmen becomes teilnehmen, annehmen and abnehmen. That is why separable verbs are best learned in verb families: one base verb with its prefixes and one example sentence each.

The stellen family

• einstellen: Wir stellen eine neue Buchhalterin ein. (to hire)
• vorstellen: Ich stelle Ihnen unser Team vor. (to introduce)
• abstellen: Bitte stellen Sie das Fahrrad im Hof ab. (to park, to put down)
• ausstellen: Die Behörde stellt die Bescheinigung aus. (to issue)
• umstellen: Wir stellen auf ein neues System um. (to switch over)
• bestellen (inseparable): Ich bestelle neues Papier. (to order)

The nehmen family

• teilnehmen: an einem Kurs teilnehmen (to take part in a course)
• annehmen: ein Angebot annehmen (to accept an offer)
• abnehmen: das Telefon abnehmen (to answer the phone); also: to lose weight
• aufnehmen: ein Gespräch aufnehmen (to record a conversation); Kontakt aufnehmen (to get in touch)
• übernehmen (inseparable): Verantwortung übernehmen (to take on responsibility)

The kommen family

• ankommen: pünktlich ankommen (to arrive on time)
• mitkommen: Kommst du mit? (to come along)
• vorkommen: Das kommt vor. (to happen, to occur)
• bekommen (inseparable): eine Antwort bekommen (to receive a reply; not “to become”!)

Important: always write down a whole example sentence for each verb family. The meaning often only becomes clear in context.

Common mistakes with separable verbs

The most common mistakes with separable verbs are a prefix that is not at the end of the sentence (Ich anrufe Sie morgen), a misplaced ge in the perfect (geangerufen), a ge on inseparable verbs (gebezahlt), separated verbs in subordinate clauses and zu in the wrong place. In conversation, though, something else happens most often: the prefix at the end of long sentences gets forgotten.

The forgotten prefix

The most common mistake in conversation is not the wrong position but the forgotten prefix. When you start a long sentence, it is easy to lose sight of the end: *Ich fülle das Formular mit allen Angaben zu meiner Adresse. What was meant was … aus. A trick: plan long sentences as shorter ones. Ich fülle das Formular aus. Dabei gebe ich alle Angaben zu meiner Adresse an.

Translating too literally

With words such as aufhören (to stop) or ausmachen (to switch off; to arrange), a literal translation does not help. Learn verbs like these as a fixed unit with an example sentence, just as you learn the German cases together with the verbs that require them.

Learning separable verbs: tips and exercises with answers

Separable verbs stick best when you hear the stress, see the sentence bracket and use the verbs to describe your own day. Start with the three learning tips below, then work through both exercises and check your answers. Each exercise takes only a few minutes, so you can repeat it regularly.

Three learning tips

1. Speak aloud and listen to the stress: if you stress AN-rufen, you will remember automatically that it separates.
2. Mark the sentence bracket: in texts, underline the verb and prefix in the same colour. This trains your eye to spot the bracket.
3. Link it to your working day: describe your day with separable verbs: Ich stehe um sechs auf, fange um acht an, rufe Kunden an, bereite Angebote vor und höre um fünf auf.

Exercise 1: form sentences in the present tense

1. ich / den Bericht / morgen / abgeben
2. die Konferenz / im Mai / stattfinden
3. wir / Sie / gern / zur Feier / einladen
4. können / Sie / mich / später / zurückrufen?

Exercise 2: perfect tense

1. Er (ankommen) gestern spät in München.
2. Ich (ausfüllen) das Formular schon.
3. Wir (verkaufen) das alte Auto.
4. Sie (teilnehmen) an der Schulung.

Answers

Exercise 1: 1. Ich gebe den Bericht morgen ab. 2. Die Konferenz findet im Mai statt. 3. Wir laden Sie gern zur Feier ein. 4. Können Sie mich später zurückrufen?
Exercise 2: 1. Er ist gestern spät in München angekommen. 2. Ich habe das Formular schon ausgefüllt. 3. Wir haben das alte Auto verkauft (inseparable). 4. Sie hat an der Schulung teilgenommen.

You are not alone with this challenge, by the way: according to the survey “Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit” (German as a foreign language worldwide), more than 15.4 million people are learning German as a foreign language, reports the DAAD (in German). If you would like to practise separable verbs with personal feedback, you will find suitable formats in our online German course. Individuals can find out more under language courses for individuals, companies under language courses for companies. Why confident German matters at work is also shown in our article on German at work.

Sources

1. daad.de: deutsch als fremdsprache afrika asien

Frequently asked questions