Verbs with Separable Prefixes in German

In this article we’ll be talking about verbs with separable prefixes, which are very common in German. Separable prefixes sometimes detach themselves from the verb and change their position. Sometimes, not always. They are attached to the infinitives, for example.

And they have one more feature: they are always stressed.

So, if the verb rufen is stressed on the first syllable (RU-fen), then in anrufen the stress moves to the separable prefix an- (AN-ru-fen). Rufen means to call (like shouting at someone to make them come) and anrufen means to telephone.

So, when you have a verb and the stress is on the prefix, it’s a separable one.

How Do the Prefixes Behave?

How do the prefixes behave? They move to the end of the clause. As an example let’s take the verb anrufen again.

The infinitive is always in one part:

Ich muss dich anrufen.	I must call (telephone) you.
Wann kannst du mich wieder anrufen?	When can you call (telephone) me again?

But in most other forms the prefix and the verb get separated. Here’s how we conjugate such verbs:

ich rufe an	I call
du rufst an	you call
er/sie/es ruft an	he/she/it calls
wir rufen an	we call
ihr ruft an	you call
sie rufen an	they call

The Präteritum looks much the same. It’s an irregular verb. The forms are: rufen – rief – gerufen.

So, here is the Präteritum conjugation:

ich rief an	I called
du riefst an	you called
er/sie/es rief an	he/she/it called
wir riefen an	we called
ihr rieft an	you called
sie riefen an	they called

Look what happens to the prefixes in sentences:

Ich rufe dich an.	I’ll call you.
Ich rufe dich morgen an.	I’ll call you tomorrow.
Ich rufe dich morgen wieder an.	I’ll call you tomorrow again.

The prefix always wanders to the final position. The same happens in questions, negative sentences and imperatives:

Rufst du mich morgen wieder an?	Will you call me tomorrow again?
Wann rufst du mich wieder an?	When will you call me again?
Ich rufe dich nie wieder an.	I’ll never call you again.
Warum rufst du mich morgen nicht wieder an?	Why won’t you call me tomorrow again?
Ruf mich morgen wieder an!	Call me tomorrow again!
Rufen Sie mich nicht an!	Don’t call me!

Separable Prefixes – Examples

Some of the most common separable prefixes include:

ab-	fahren	to go	abfahren	to depart	Der Zug fährt ab.	The train is departing.
an-	fangen	to catch	anfangen	to start	Der Film fängt an.	The movie is starting.
auf-	stehen	to stand	aufstehen	to get up	Steh auf!	Get up!
aus-	sehen	to see	aussehen	to look	Das sieht sehr gut aus.	This looks very good.
ein-	schlafen	to sleep	einschlafen	to fall asleep	Sie schliefen sofort ein.	They fell asleep immediately.
los-	werden	to become	loswerden	to get rid of	Ich wurde den Wagen los.	I got rid of the car.
mit-	kommen	to come	mitkommen	to come along	Kommt ihr mit?	Are you coming along?
nach-	füllen	to fill	nachfüllen	to refill	Der Kellner füllt die Gläser nach.	The waiter is refilling the glasses.
vor-	haben	to have	vorhaben	to have planned	Was hast du jetzt vor?	What are you going to do now?
weg-	werfen	to throw	wegwerfen	to throw away	Ich werfe den Stuhl weg.	I’m throwing the chair away.
zu-	machen	to make	zumachen	to close	Mach das Fenster zu!	Close the window!
zurück-	kommen	to come	zurückkommen	to come back	Wann kommst du zurück?	When will you come back?
zusammen-	brechen	to break	zusammenbrechen	to collapse	Die Brücke brach zusammen.	The bridge collapsed.

And there are thousands of verbs like that.