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/e sag-t [...] ab he/she/it cancels
s
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/e sag-t-e [...] ab he/she/it cancelled
s
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 sag [...] ab cancel
singular
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- durch- her- vor-
an- ein- herein- vorbei-
auf- entgegen- los- weg-
aus- entlang- mit- weiter-
auseinander fehl- nach- wieder-
- fest- über- zu-
bei- um- zurück-
dar- unter-
"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?
