A Foundation Course in Reading German, 2017a

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12/8/2017
WITH PREFIX
WITHOUT PREFIX
mißverstehen (to misunderstand) stehen (to stand)
verstehen (to understand) stehen (to stand)
zerfallen (to fall to pieces) fallen (to fall)
Note how the prefix has changed the meaning. Only in the case of miß– and zer–
can we always attach a meaning to the inseparable prefix, i.e., “mis-“ and “to
pieces” respectively. Quite often however the addition of ent– to a verb lends the
meaning “away from,” e.g. entnehmen = to take away, remove; entkleiden = to
remove clothes, undress. And often the addition of a be– turns an intransitive verb
transitive, e.g., bewohnen = to inhabit (something).
As mentioned at the end of Unit 3, the conjugations of verbs with inseparable
prefixes simply follow the same forms as the root verb. For example, verstehen (to
understand), bestehen (to exist; to insist), gestehen (to confess), and entstehen
(to be created, to develop, to form) all share the same endings and forms as stehen
(to stand):
Die Frau versteht die Kinder.
The woman understands the children.
Die Frauen verstanden die Kinder.
The women understood the children.
These prefixed verbs are found in dictionaries as separate entries, not under the
root verb.
Unit: 4: Verbs with prefixes; adjective endings
3. Verbs with Separable Prefixes
The number of separable prefixes is far greater than that of inseparable prefixes.
Separable prefix verbs, as the name implies, separate into two parts when used in
any way other than in their infinitive form. Let us consider two examples: aufgehen
(to rise, go up) and untergehen (to descend, go down):
Die Sonne geht um sechs Uhr auf.
The sun rises at 6 o’clock.