Separable and inseparable verbs

These are verbs which begin with a prefix (often a preposition).

The prefixes can be either separable or inseparable.

ALWAYS INSEPARABLE:

There are eight inseparable prefixes:

be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, emp-, ent-, miß-,

The only difference between an inseparable verb beginning with one of these prefixes and the basic verb from which it comes is that the inseparable verbs do not have ge- in the past participle:

Er hat begonnen. He has has begun

Die Bombe hatte das Haus zerstört. The bomb destroyed the house.

ALWAYS SEPARABLE:

Most of these prefixes are prepositions or adverbs. The reason they are separable is that they can be separated from the verb in the ways shown below:

ankommen, to arrive:

Er kam um 8 Uhr an. He arrived at 8.

Als er in Stuttgart ankam, regnete es. When he arrived in Stuttgart it was raining.

Er ist noch nicht angekommen. He has not yet arrived.

Er musste früh aufstehen, um pünktlich in der Schule anzukommen. He has to get up early to get to school on time.

Er wollte um 9 Uhr in Bath ankommen. He wanted to to arrive in Bath at 9.

The commonest separable prefixes plus an example of a verb: