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You are here: Home / German Grammar 107 – Separable verbs

German Grammar 107 – Separable verbs

A separable verb is basically a verb with a prefix. This kind of verbs also exist in English, but there are some differences. In English these are two-part verbs, or phrasal verbs, like for example “to get up“ or “to turn off“. In German however, these two parts are combined to one verb, for example:


to get up – aufstehen (auf + stehen)
to turn off – ausschalten (aus + schalten)

In a main clause sentence these verbs have to be separated from the prefix. The prefix then comes at the end of the sentence.

Thomas steht um 7:00Uhr auf. – Thomas gets up at 7.00am.

Sabine schaltet den Fernseher aus. – Sabine turns off the television.

Watch out! Not all German separable verbs are also two-part verbs in English.

Some of the most important separable verbs are:

abfahren – to depart
Der Zug fährt um 9:24Uhr ab. -The train departs at 9.24am.

abholen – to pick up
Sie holt Petra am Bahnhof ab. – She picks Petra up at the station.

anfangen – to start
Die Arbeit fängt um 9:00Uhr an. – Work starts at 9.00 a.m.

ankommen – to arrive
Er kommt am Montag an. – He arrives on Monday.

einladen – to invite
Wir laden sie zur Party ein. – We invite her to the party.

vorbereiten – to prepare
Er bereitet die Präsentation vor. – He prepares the presentation.

EXERCISE: 107 Separable Verbs | NEXT: 108 Questions

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German Beginners’ Course

Grammar
101 Gender
102 Articles
103 Personal Pronouns
104 To be / Sein
105 To Have / Haben
106 Regular Present Tense Verbs
107 Separable Verbs
108 Questions
109 Possessive Adjectives
110 Adjectives


Exercises
101 Gender
102 Articles
103 Personal Pronouns
104 To Be - Sein
105 To Have - Haben
106 Regular Present
107 Separable Verbs
108 Questions
109 Possessive Adjectives
110 Adjectives

Vocabulary lists
101 Numbers
102 Family
103 Greetings
104 Food & Drink
105 Time
106 Rooms
107 City
108 Questions
109 Household Objects
110 Jobs

Listening practice
101 Gender
102 Articles
103 Personal Pronouns
104 To be / Sein
105 To Have / Haben
106 Regular Present Tense Verbs
107 Separable Verbs
108 Questions
109 Possessive Adjectives
110 Adjectives

Dialogues
101 Tourist Information
102 Restaurant
103 Phone Call
104 Directions
105 Shopping
106 Calling In Sick
107 Doctor & Patient
108 Ticket Office
109 Taxi
110 Hotel

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