11.7 Variable verb prefixes

COMMON SEPARABLE PREFIXES

ab- away,down or off absetzen put down abdrehen switch off an- at,on, starting,approaching or anreden address (speak to/at) doing something partially andrehen switch on auf- up,on,open, or a sudden start aufessen eat up auflachen burst out laughing

aus- out,off,from, often the

ausbrennen burn out completion of an action ausdorren dry up ein- in(to), become accustomed to sth. einfahren run in (new car) sich einleben settle down

entgegen- towards fort- away hinzu- in addition

los- off, setting out

entgegenkommen come towards fortbleiben stay away hinzusagen add (say in addition) losgehen set off, start mit- with mitarbeiten cooperate nach- after, often imitating or repeating nachmachen copy, do the same vor- ahead,forward, demonstrating vorgehen go on ahead vormachen show sb. how to do sth.

weg- away

zu- to,towards, closing

zurück- back

zusammen- together,up,down

weglaufen run away zusehen look at/towards, watch zumachen shut

zurückfahren drive back

zusammensetzen put together zusammenfalten fold up zusammenbrechen collapse

A few prefixes can be used to form SEPARABLE or INSEPARABLEVERBS. There is usually a difference in meaning, with the separable verb tending to have the more concrete, physical meaning. The separable prefix is stressed (e.g. 'übersetzen, ‘ferry across, cross (water)’) whereas the inseparable prefix is unstressed (e.g. über'setzen, ‘translate’).

Durch-

SEPARABLE verbs with durch- usually have the idea of ‘all the way through’: 'durchblicken look through 'durchfahren drive (right) through 'durchfallen fall through, fail 'durchrosten rust through

INSEPARABLE verbs with durch- usually have the idea of penetrating into something without necessarily going all the way through:

durch'dringen penetrate durch'setzen infiltrate durch'reisen travel through durch'wachen remain awake

Particularly with verbs of motion, the distinction between separable and inseparable verbs with durch- can be very slight.

Hinter-

Verbs with hinter- ‘behind’ are normally INSEPARABLE:

hinter'gehen deceive hinter'lassen bequeath, leave

SEPARABLE verbs with hinter- are regional and colloquial, e.g. (Austrian) 'hintergehen ‘go to the back’.

Über-

SEPARABLE verbs with über- are usually intransitive, with the literal meaning ‘over’:

'überfahren cross over 'überkochen boil over 'überhängen overhang 'überlaufen overflow, desert

INSEPARABLE verbs with über- are usually transitive, with a rather less literal meaning:

über'arbeiten rework über'setzen translate über'treiben exaggerate über'sehen overlook

Um-

SEPARABLE verbs with um- usually express the idea of turning, or a change of state:

'umblicken look round 'umschreiben rewrite 'umdrehen turn round 'umsteigen change (trains, etc.)

INSEPARABLE verbs with um- express encirclement or going round:

um'armen embrace um'gehen avoid, go round um'geben surround um'schreiben paraphrase

Unter-

SEPARABLE verbs with unter- have the literal meaning ‘under(neath)’:

'untergehen sink, decline 'unterkommen find accommodation 'unterlegen put underneath 'untersetzen put underneath