German Grammar Explained /
Participle: verbs with prefixes
Some verbs in German, sucha as anfangen, aufstehen, bekommen, for example, require prefixes. In some cases, they are separable (eg.anfangen, aufstehen) an in others they aren't (bekommen). This also affects their past tense!
Let's have a look at how this works:
Separable verbs:
aufstehen
Wann bist du heute aufgestanden?
When did you get up today?
Non-separable verbs:
bekommen
Hast du meine Blumen bekommen?
Did you get my flowers?
So... The separable ones have the ge in between the prefix and the main verb?
Exactly! See? You’re getting good at this! The non-separable verbs usually stay the same, but they aren't as regular as the separable ones. You'll learn them as you go, don't worry! Here's a little overview for you:
Overview:
separable | non-separable |
|---|---|
aufstehen → aufgestanden | bekommen → bekommen |
anfangen → angefangen | erklären → erklärt |
aufräumen → aufgeräumt | verstehen → verstanden |
zurückgehen → zurückgegangen | frühstücken → gefrühstückt |