Separable Verbs in German

In Brief

A German separable verb splits in a present-tense main clause: the conjugated verb stands near the beginning, while its prefix moves to the end. Aufstehen therefore becomes Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf (“I get up at 7 o’clock”). If another verb is conjugated instead, the separable infinitive normally stays together: Ich muss um 7 Uhr aufstehen.

Overview

Many common German verbs consist of a basic verb plus a prefix: kommen (“to come”) becomes ankommen (“to arrive”), and stehen (“to stand”) becomes aufstehen (“to get up”). Some of these combinations are separable, which means that German places their two parts in different positions in certain sentences. English has combinations such as “get up” and “turn on,” but German splitting is controlled by sentence structure rather than simply by meaning.

This is an important A1 pattern because separable verbs describe ordinary routines: waking up, shopping, calling, arriving, leaving, opening something, and switching devices on. The beginner rule applies to a main clause (a statement or question that can stand on its own): conjugate the basic verb and place the prefix at the end of the clause.

A prefix is a short element attached to the front of a verb, such as an- in ankommen. A conjugated verb is the form whose ending changes to match the subject—the person or thing performing the action—such as ich komme and du kommst. In a separable main clause, these two pieces form a verb bracket: the conjugated part opens the bracket, and the prefix closes it.

How It Works

Start from the dictionary form

The infinitive (the basic dictionary form of a verb) is written as one word:

Prefix	Basic verb	Separable verb	Meaning
auf-	stehen	aufstehen	to get up
an-	kommen	ankommen	to arrive
ein-	kaufen	einkaufen	to shop
an-	rufen	anrufen	to call by phone
mit-	kommen	mitkommen	to come along
fern-	sehen	fernsehen	to watch television

The prefix often changes the meaning substantially. Learn anrufen as a complete vocabulary item, not merely as rufen with an extra syllable.

Statements: conjugated verb second, prefix last

In a normal statement, German places the conjugated verb in the second position and the separated prefix at the end. A position can contain more than one word: Um sieben Uhr is one time phrase occupying the first position.

First position	Conjugated part	Middle	Prefix
Ich	stehe	um sieben Uhr	auf.
Der Zug	kommt	heute spät	an.
Am Samstag	kaufe	ich im Markt	ein.

The basic verb follows its usual present-tense conjugation. For aufstehen, the present forms are:

Subject	Form in a main clause	English
ich	ich stehe auf	I get up
du	du stehst auf	you get up
er/sie/es	er/sie/es steht auf	he/she/it gets up
wir	wir stehen auf	we get up
ihr	ihr steht auf	you all get up
sie/Sie	sie/Sie stehen auf	they/you (formal) get up

Only the basic verb part receives the personal ending. The prefix does not change.

What “at the end” means

The prefix comes after the objects and other information that belong inside the clause:

• Ich rufe meine Schwester heute Abend an.
• Er macht wegen der Hitze das Fenster auf.
• Wir kaufen nach der Arbeit im Supermarkt ein.

English speakers often want to keep the two verbal pieces together. German instead holds the prefix until the clause is complete. If a second clause follows, the prefix closes its own clause before the comma: Ich rufe dich an, wenn ich zu Hause bin.

Yes-or-no questions

In a yes-or-no question, the conjugated verb comes first. The prefix still comes last:

Conjugated part	Subject and middle	Prefix
Stehst	du morgen früh	auf?
Kommt	der Bus pünktlich	an?
Rufst	du mich später	an?

Questions with a question word

A question word such as wann (“when”), wo (“where”), or warum (“why”) comes first. The conjugated verb follows it, and the prefix remains at the end:

• Wann kommst du an?
• Wo kauft ihr ein?
• Warum machst du das Licht aus?

Modal verbs: no split

With a modal verb such as können (“can”), müssen (“must”), or wollen (“want”), the modal is conjugated. The separable verb is an infinitive at the end and is therefore written together:

Without a modal	With a modal
Ich stehe früh auf.	Ich muss früh aufstehen.
Sie kauft heute ein.	Sie will heute einkaufen.
Kommst du mit?	Kannst du mitkommen?

This gives a reliable test: ask which verb carries the personal ending. If it is the separable verb, split it in a main clause. If a modal carries the ending, keep the separable infinitive together.

Common separable prefixes

These prefixes are frequently separable:

Prefix	Typical idea	Example
ab-	away, off	abfahren — to depart
an-	toward, on, beginning	ankommen — to arrive
auf-	up, open	aufstehen — to get up
aus-	out, off	ausgehen — to go out
ein-	in	einsteigen — to get in/on
mit-	along, with	mitbringen — to bring along
vor-	forward, beforehand	vorbereiten — to prepare
weg-	away	weggehen — to go away
zu-	closed, toward	zumachen — to close
zurück-	back	zurückkommen — to come back

These meanings are useful clues, not exact formulas. For example, aufgeben can mean “to give up,” “to assign,” or “to post” a parcel depending on context.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf.	I get up at 7 o’clock.	Everyday routine; aufstehen
Er macht das Fenster auf.	He opens the window.	Informal aufmachen
Wann kommst du an?	When do you arrive?	Question word first
Der Zug fährt in fünf Minuten ab.	The train leaves in five minutes.	The prefix follows the time phrase
Am Freitag kaufen wir für die Party ein.	On Friday we shop for the party.	A time phrase occupies first position
Rufst du deine Eltern heute an?	Are you calling your parents today?	Yes-or-no question
Meine Kollegin bringt morgen einen Kuchen mit.	My colleague is bringing a cake tomorrow.	mitbringen has an irregular basic verb
Bitte mach die Tür zu.	Please close the door.	Informal singular command
Das Kind schläft schnell ein.	The child falls asleep quickly.	einschlafen changes a to ä
Wir sehen am Abend oft fern.	We often watch television in the evening.	fernsehen splits in a main clause
Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.	I have to get up early tomorrow.	Infinitive stays together after a modal
Kann Lena zum Essen mitkommen?	Can Lena come along for the meal?	Modal verb is conjugated
Sie kommt spät zurück, aber ich warte auf sie.	She is coming back late, but I’ll wait for her.	Prefix ends the first clause
Warum schaltest du den Computer aus?	Why are you switching off the computer?	ausschalten for devices

Common Mistakes

Keeping the prefix beside the verb

• Wrong: Ich aufstehe um sieben Uhr.
• Right: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
• Why: In a present-tense main clause, conjugate stehen in the usual verb position and put auf at the end.

Forgetting to separate the verb

• Wrong: Der Zug ankommt um neun Uhr.
• Right: Der Zug kommt um neun Uhr an.
• Why: Ankommt is not kept together in an ordinary main-clause statement. The separated form is kommt ... an.

Adding the ending to the prefix

• Wrong: Du rufstst mich an or du ruf mich anst.
• Right: Du rufst mich an.
• Why: Only the basic verb rufen is conjugated. The prefix an never receives a personal ending.

Splitting an infinitive after a modal

• Wrong: Ich will heute ein kaufen.
• Right: Ich will heute einkaufen.
• Why: After a modal, einkaufen is an infinitive and remains one word at the end.

Putting material after the prefix inside the same clause

• Wrong: Ich rufe heute an meine Mutter.
• Right: Ich rufe heute meine Mutter an.
• Why: The object meine Mutter belongs inside the verb bracket. The prefix normally closes the clause.

Assuming every prefix separates

• Wrong: Ich besuche dich morgen be.
• Right: Ich besuche dich morgen.
• Why: Besuchen has the inseparable prefix be-. Common inseparable prefixes include be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver-, and zer-.

Usage Notes

Separable verbs are neutral and extremely common in both speech and writing. Some everyday verbs with machen, such as aufmachen and zumachen, can sound more conversational than öffnen (“to open”) and schließen (“to close”), but they are standard German rather than slang.

Stress can help you recognize the pattern. In many separable verbs, the prefix is stressed: AUFstehen, ANrufen, EINkaufen. Inseparable prefixes are generally unstressed: beSUchen, verSTEhen. Listening for stress is useful, but beginners should still learn each new verb with its prefix and a complete example sentence.

English phrasal verbs can provide a helpful comparison, but the systems do not match word for word. German anrufen means “call,” not literally “call on,” and aussehen means “look/appear,” not “look out.” Translate the whole verb in context rather than translating each part separately.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of the following at A1, but these patterns explain forms you will soon encounter.

Subordinate clauses keep the conjugated verb together

A subordinate clause is a clause introduced by a word such as weil (“because”) that depends on another clause. Its conjugated verb goes to the end, and a separable verb is written together:

• Main clause: Ich stehe früh auf.
• Subordinate clause: Ich bin müde, weil ich früh aufstehe.
• Main clause: Der Zug kommt spät an.
• Subordinate clause: Ich warte, bis der Zug ankommt.

The verb has not stopped being separable. The subordinate-clause pattern simply brings its two parts back together at the end.

zu goes between prefix and verb

When a separable verb appears with zu, German inserts zu between the prefix and the basic verb and writes the result as one word:

• aufstehen → früh aufzustehen
• einkaufen → heute einzukaufen
• mitkommen → mit uns mitzukommen

For example: Ich versuche, früher aufzustehen (“I’m trying to get up earlier”). This differs from an inseparable verb such as besuchen, which gives zu besuchen, not beizusuchen.

Past participles often insert ge-

The past participle (a verb form used in tenses such as the conversational past) usually places ge- between the separable prefix and the verb stem:

Infinitive	Past participle	Example meaning
einkaufen	eingekauft	shopped
anmachen	angemacht	switched on
mitbringen	mitgebracht	brought along
aufstehen	aufgestanden	got up

Irregular basic verbs remain irregular: stehen has gestanden, so aufstehen has aufgestanden.

Commands also separate

When the separable verb itself forms an imperative (a command), the prefix stands at the end:

• Steh bitte auf! — Please get up!
• Ruft mich später an! — Call me later!
• Machen Sie das Licht aus! — Switch off the light!

Some prefixes can be separable or inseparable

Prefixes such as durch-, über-, um-, unter-, and wieder- do not always behave the same way. Stress and meaning may determine whether a particular verb separates. Compare UMfahren (Er fährt den Pfosten um, “He knocks the post over by driving into it”) with umFAHren (Er umfährt die Baustelle, “He drives around the roadworks”). Treat such verbs as separate vocabulary entries and check their stress and example sentence.

Practice Tips

1. Learn each verb in three pieces of information: its infinitive, one split main-clause example, and its meaning. For example: anrufen — Ich rufe dich an — “to call.” This trains vocabulary and word order together.
2. Build verb brackets aloud. Choose a verb, say the conjugated part, add progressively longer details, and finish with the prefix: Ich kaufe ein → Ich kaufe heute ein → Ich kaufe heute nach der Arbeit im Supermarkt ein.
3. Contrast one-verb and two-verb sentences. Make pairs such as Wir stehen früh auf and Wir müssen früh aufstehen. This quickly reinforces when the infinitive stays together.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular Verbs (Present) — review present-tense endings before applying them to the basic verb inside a separable verb.