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Separable Verbs and Related Prepositions, Part III

Today we'll continue with the third and final part of separable verbs and related prepositions, taking a look at how the same words with different meanings can sometimes coexist in German sentences.

 

Separable verbs often start with prefixes that are identical to prepositions. Here is a partial list of separable verbs that start with prefixes that on their own are prepositions, followed by examples of one of the verbs and the preposition:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Preposition: nach (to, after)
Separable verbs: nachahmen (to imitate); nachdenken (to think); nacherzählen (to retell, to relate); nachfolgen (to follow, to succeed); nachgeben (to give in); nachprüfen (to double check); nachschlagen (to look up, to reference); nachtun (to follow someone’s example); nachzählen (to recount, double-check)

This example uses the separable verb nachdenken

 

Manchmal denken wir Frauen zu viel über die Liebe nach.

Sometimes we women think too much about love.

Caption 7, Konjugation - Das Verb „denken“

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Whereas this example uses the verb denken and the preposition nach:

 

Stuttgart, schön. OK, ich denke, ich fliege nach Stuttgart.

Stuttgart, nice. OK, I think I'll fly to Stuttgart.

Caption 9, Reiseplanung - Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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If we were to combine the separable verb nachdenken and the preposition nach, we could make a sentence like this: 

 

Ich denke über eine Reise nach Stuttgart nach.
I'm thinking about a trip to Stuttgart. 

 

Preposition: vor (to, before)
Separable verbs: vorbereiten (to prepare); vorbestellen (to pre-order); vorhaben (to plan, to intend); vorkommen (to come up, to happen); vornehmen (to carry out); vorstellen (to introduce, to imagine); vortragen (to perform, to give a lecture)

 

This example uses the separable verb vorhaben

 

Und was hast du heute noch vor?

And what else are you planning for today?

Caption 53, Unterwegs mit Cettina - an der Rheinfähre

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But this example uses the verb haben and the preposition vor:

 

Du hast mich immer wieder vor dir selber gewarnt

You have always warned me about yourself

Caption 15, Johannes Oerding - Mein schönster Fehler

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Again, we can make another sentence using the separable verb vorhaben and the preposition vor

 

Hast du wirklich vor, schon vor dem Deutschunterricht nach Hause zu gehen?
Do you really intend to go home before German class?

 

You may already be attending German class from home, but keep up the good work learning with Yabla German either way!

 

Further Learning
See if you can come up with some other sentences that contain a separable verb and a preposition that is identical to the verb's prefix and have your teacher check your work. You can also look for more examples of separable verbs used with prepositions that are identical to their prefixes on Yabla German.

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