Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly use a separable verb, a genuinely German-specific concept, in a simple present-tense sentence.

Lesson Explanation

A separable verb is a genuinely German-specific concept: a verb combined with a prefix that carries specific meaning, but in a normal main clause, the prefix separates from the verb and moves to the very end of the sentence:

aufstehen (to get up) = auf + stehen Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf.  (I get up at 7 o'clock.)

Notice auf moved to the very end of the sentence, while stehe (the conjugated core verb) stays in its normal position — genuinely different from anything in French or English, where a verb’s meaning-bearing parts don’t split apart like this.

Other common separable verbs: anrufen (to call, an+rufen): Ich rufe dich an. (I’ll call you.); einkaufen (to shop, ein+kaufen): Wir kaufen Lebensmittel ein. (We are buying groceries.)

Practice Questions