6.4 Separable and inseparable verbs

Some otherwise regular verbs diverge slightly from this pattern, often in order to avoid series of consonants that are difficult to pronounce – try saying [es regnt] or [du faxst]! The main variations in verb conjugation are:

infinitive/stem finite forms/past participle example

stemends in: before endings -st, -t, and finden → du findest, sie findet -d or -t past-tense ending -te: warten → du wartest, es wartete -n or -m after consonant adds -e- regnen → es regnet (other than ‘l’ or ‘r’) atmen → er atmet (but: er filmt) infinitive ends in: in some forms: klingeln → ich klingle -eln or -ern drops -e- of stem/ending wandern → ich wand(e)re stem ends in: in the du form of the present: lesen → du liest -s, -ß, -x or -z ending -t (not -st) grüßen → du grüßt faxen → du faxt sitzen → du sitzt strong verbs with: du and es form of the present lesen → du liest, es liest, lies! -e- in stem and imperative singular: geben → du gibst, es gibt, gib! vowel change to -i- or -ie- helfen → du hilfst, es hilft, hilf! strong verbs with: du and es form of the present: fahren → du fährst, es fährt -a- or -au- in stem Umlaut laufen → du läufst, es läuft infinitive ends in: past participle: studieren → er hat studiert -ieren omits ge- trainieren → es wurde trainiert

Whereas English has a wide variety of phrasal verbs like ‘get up’ or ‘go out’, German forms new verbs by adding prefixes. These can be ‘inseparable’ or ‘separable’, with a few prefixes being variable (see chapter 11).

Inseparable verbs

Verbs with the following prefixes are known as inseparable verbs because their prefixes always remain attached to the verb:

be-, ent-/emp-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver-, zer-. They do not add ge- in the past participle:

infinitive past tense past participle

bestellen (order) bestellte bestellt gefallen (please, like) gefiel gefallen verlieren (lose) verlor verloren