Trenbarre Verben

Separable verbs in German (Trennbare Verben)

One of the things that is the most surprising (and exasperating) when you start learning German is the idea of a separable verb. 

We’re going to look at what they are and how to conjugate them in more detail. They are similar to phrasal verbs in English.

• 1 Introduction to Separable Verbs
  • 1.1 Präsens (present)
  • 1.2 Präteritum (past simple)
  • 1.3 Imperativ (Imperative)
  • 1.4 The construction of the "Partizip II"
  • 1.5 Separable Verbs in Subordinate Clauses
  • 1.6 Separable Verbs in Relative Clauses
  • 1.7 Separable verbs in Clauses "(um)" + "zu"
• 2 Separable particles
• 3 The special case of particle placement
• 4 Audiovisual Supplement

Introduction to Separable Verbs

For these verbs, the particle is separated and placed at the end of the clause for simple verb tenses (as long as the clause is not subordinate or relative).

Let´s look at the separable verb "absagen" (cancel) as an example.

The verb is formed by the particle ab and the verb sagen.

"Sagen" alone means to say, but together with the particle "ab" it means "cancel".

Er sagt ein Konzert ab 
He cancelled the concert

As you can observe in this example, the particle "ab" is placed at the end of the clause.

This property of separating only takes place in verb tenses that do not have an auxiliary verb (helping verb). In German, they are:

• Präsens
• Präteritum
• Imperativ

Präsens (present)

Person	Conjugation	Translation
ich	sag-e [...] ab	I cancel
du	sag-st [...] ab	you cancel
er/sie/es	sag-t [...] ab	he/she/it cancels
wir	sag-en [...] ab	we cancel
ihr	sag-t [...] ab	you cancel (speaking to a group)
sie	sag-en [...] ab	they cancel

Präteritum (past simple)

Person	Conjugation	Translation
ich	sag-t-e [...] ab	I cancelled
du	sag-te-st[...] ab	you cancelled
er/sie/es	sag-t-e [...] ab	he/she/it cancelled
wir	sag-t-en [...] ab	we cancelled
ihr	sag-te-t [...] ab	you cancelled
sie	sag-t-en [...] ab	they cancelled

Imperativ (Imperative)

Person	Conjugation	Translation
2nd person singular	sag [...] ab	cancel
1st person plural	sag-en wir [...] ab	Let’s cancel
2nd person plural	sag-t [...] ab	cancel
polite form (Sie)	sag-en Sie [...] ab	cancel

The construction of the "Partizip II"

To make the Partizip II for the separable verb, you do the same as you would for the "Partizip II" for verbs that are not separted and add the particle as a prefix.

Infinitive	Partizip II	Translation
absagen	abgesagt	cancelled
aufmachen	aufgemacht	opened
umsteigen	umgestiegen	changed
zumachen	zugemacht	closed

Separable Verbs in Subordinate Clauses

For subordinate clauses, separable verbs behave like normal verbs, meaning that they aren´t separate:

Sie hat erzählt, dass er ein Konzert absagt
She said that he’s cancelling a concert

Separable Verbs in Relative Clauses

In relative clauses the separable verbs do not split:

Ich schickte dir eine SMS, die nie ankam 
I sent you a text that never arrived

Separable verbs in Clauses "(um)" + "zu"

Compound clauses with "(um) + zu", the separable verbs are split by placing the preposition zu between the particle and the verb:

Es ist schwer, das Spiel wegzulegen 
It’s difficult to put down this game

Separable particles

Sometimes, particles change the meaning of the verb they accompany just slightly, other times drastically.

Separable particles are:

Separable particles
ab- an- auf- aus- auseinander- bei- dar-	durch- ein- entgegen- entlang- fehl- fest-	her- herein- los- mit- nach- über- um- unter-	vor- vorbei- weg- weiter- wieder- zu- zurück-

"ab-"

• absagen [cancel]
• abschrauben [unscrew]
• absegeln [sail away]
• abbiegen [turn]

"an-"

• anleiten [guide]
• anmelden [register]
• anrufen [call]
• anfangen [start]
• anhalten [stop]
• ankommen [arrive]
• anbieten [offer]
• anpassen [adapt]
• anschließen [connect]

"auf-"

• aufheizen [heat up]
• aufhaben [wear]
• aufstehen [to stand up]

"aus-"

• aussteigen [to get off/to exit (the bus)]
• aussehen [to look/to apear] (Ex: "She looks beautiful" NOT "She looks at a map)"

"auseinander-"

• auseinandersetzen to deal with/to argue with]

"bei-"

• beitragen [contribute]

"dar-"

• darstellen [to represent]

"durch-"

• durchlesen [to read through]
• durchgehen [to pass through]

The particle "durch-" is sometimes not separable. For example: durchqueren[to traverse]

"ein-"

• einsteigen [to step into/to enter (on the bus)]
• einkaufen [to go shopping]
• einschalten [to turn on]
• einladen [to invite]
  
  It is not always separable

"entgegen-"

• entgegenstellen [to oppose]

"entlang-"

• entlangfahren [to drive along]

"fehl-"

• fehlschlagen [to backfire]

"fest-"

• festlegen [to determine]

"her-"

• herstellen [to manufacture]

"herein-"

• hereintreten [to step in]

"los-"

• losgehen [to get going]

"mit-"

• mitmachen [to participate]

"nach-"

• nacharbeiten [to rework]

"über-"

• überstreifen [to shuffle on/slip over]

The particle "über" is normally not separable. For example: überdenken [reconsider]

"um-"

• umsteigen [change (trains)]

"unter-"

• unterlegen [to place underneath]

The particle "unter-" is sometimes not separable.

"vor-"

• vorlesen [to read aloud]
• vorsehen [to provide]

"vorbei-"

• vorbeimarschieren [to march by]

"weg-"

• wegnehmen [to take away]

"weiter-"

• weiterentwickeln [to perfect/improve]

"wieder-"

• wiedergeben [to return (something)]
  
  It is not always separable:
  wiederholen [to repeat] (not separable)

"zu-"

• zumachen [to close]

"zurück-"

• zurückkommen [to come back]

The special case of particle placement

As we said, the separable particle of the verb is placed at the end of the sentence:

Geht er ins Kino mit? 
Is he also going to the movie theater?

But if a complement is taken for granted (it doesn’t provide new information) in street German (although this is not correct) is placed at the end, leaving the particle inside the sentence so that we hear:

Geht er mit ins Kino? 
Is he also going to the movie theater?

Audiovisual Supplement

We will conclude with a nice song from an amateur Austrian choir: Kurt Mikula. The song is "Zünd ein Licht an" (turn on a light).