11/15/13German Verbs with Prepositions 1 - German Lessongerman.about.com/library/verbs/blverb_prep01.htm1/3
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German Verbs with Prepositions
Verben mit Präpositionen
This German verb guide is part of our free German for Beginners course. Also see our German Verbs section for more about German verbs.
RELATED > Two-Way Prepositions | Prepositional Pitfalls
Introduction: Verbs and Prepositions
There are many German verbs and idiomatic verb phrases that use prepositions. English also uses verbs with prepositions (“to believe in” or “talkabout”), but German may use a different preposition for the same expression (
glauben an
for
believe in
) and German can often have two possiblecases for a preposition in a verbal idiom. Determining which case to use can sometimes be confusing for English-speakers, but this guide can helpreduce such confusion.A preposition in a German verb phrase takes an object in the same case that the preposition normally requires (accusative or dative). For a preposition
such as
mit
, which is always dative, the object of the preposition in the verbal phrase would also use the dative: “
Hör doch mit dem Lärm auf!
” (“Cutout the noise!” - Verb phrase:
aufhören mit
).For many prepositions, as in the
mit
example above, you only have to know what kind of preposition you have — i.e.,
für
, always accusative, or
von
,always dative. Doubt concerning the correct case only arises with the so-called two-way prepositions, also called the “doubtful” prepositions. (In thechart below, two-way prepositions are indicated with an asterisk [*].) The doubt comes about because a two-way preposition can take either anaccusative or a dative object. With verbs, the normal rules for determining the case of a dual preposition (
wo/wohin
) don't always apply. For many
verb
+
preposition
expressions, you simply have to learn which case the verb uses, much as you have to learn the gender of a German noun. That's justone good reason why you should study the prepositional verb charts that follow.
Don't confuse prepositions used with verbswith separable/inseparable verb prefixesthat may also be prepositions.
There are, however, some helpful rules of thumb for the two-way prepositions with verbs. With the exception of
an
, two-way prepositions with verbsusually take the accusative case. For instance, in verbal phrases, the two-way preposition
über
usually means “about” and is accusative. In contrast,most
an
verb phrases, such as
arbeiten an
(to work on), are dative. Unlike the other two-way prepositions, very few verb expressions with
an
areaccusative. These include:
denken an
(think of),
glauben an
(believe in),
s. halten an
(hold to), and
s. erinnern an
(remember). In stock verb phrases,
über
is always accusative,
vor
is always dative (but not in other situations). Also see additional comments for particular verbs/prepositions in thecharts below.The first
verb
+
preposition
chart below lists the prepositions alphabetically, with example sentences. The chart in Part 2 lists the verbs alphabetically.ABBREVIATIONS USED:
A
(accusative),
D
(dative),
etw
(etwas),
jdn
(
jemanden
, someone),
s.
(
sich
, reflexive verb),
s.o.
(someone),
s.t.
(something)
Verbs with Prepositions
> Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | QUIZ
Prepositions Used with Verbs
Präpositionen mit Verben
Prep.Verb PhraseExamplean
*
an
etw
arbeiten
D
Er arbeitet an einem Roman.
He's working on a novel.
an
*
an
etw/jdn
denken
A
Ich denke oft an ihn.
I think of him often.
auf
*
auf
etw
achten
A
Sie müssen auf den Preis achten.
You have to pay attention to the price.
auf
*
auf
etw
bestehen
D
Er hat auf seinen Rechten bestanden.
He insisted on his rights.
ausaus
etw
bestehen
D
Sein Haus besteht aus Stein.
His house is made of stone.
fürfür
etw
sorgen
A
Die Polizei sorgt für Recht und Ordnung.
The police strive for law and order.
in
*
s. in
jdn
verlieben
A
Er hat sich in sie verliebt.
11/15/13German Verbs with Prepositions 1 - German Lessongerman.about.com/library/verbs/blverb_prep01.htm2/3
He fell in love with her.
in
*
s. in
etw/jdm
täuschen
D
Ich habe mich in ihm getäuscht.
He disappointed me.Also see > Verb List
mitmit
etw
rechnen
D
Wir haben mit seiner Dummheit nicht gerechnet.
We didn't account for his stupidity.
nachnach
etw
riechen
D
Es riecht nach Benzin.
It smells like/of gasoline.
über
*
über
etw/jdn
urteilen
A
Ich kann nicht über sein Talent urteilen.
I can't judge his talent.
über
*
über
etw
verfügen
A
Verfügst du über einen Rechner?
Do you have access to a computer? NOTE:
über
is always ACCUSATIVE in verbal idioms.
ums. um
etw
bewerben
A
Bewirbst du dich um den Posten?
Are you applying for the position?
vonvon
etw/jdm
distanzieren
D
Sie haben sich von ihm distanziert.
They distanced themselves from him.
vor
*jdn
vor
etw
retten
D
Sie hat ihn vor dem Wasser gerettet.
She saved him from the water. NOTE:
vor
is always DATIVE in verbal idioms.
zuzu
etw/jdm
stehen
D
Stehst du zu ihm?
Are you sticking by/with him? * = two-way (accusative/dative) prepositions NOTE: The two-way prepositions
hinter
and
unter
are rarely used in verbal idioms. Also see > Verb List
Comments: Verbs and Prepositions
As you can see by the examples above, the German preposition in verbal idioms may or may not resemble the English preposition. In fact, in someGerman verbal phrases with a preposition there is no preposition at all in the English equivalent:
aufhören mit
(to stop doing something),
s. erinnernan
(to remember).Some verbs can be used with more than one preposition, which may or may not change its meaning. The verb
bestehen
, for instance, used with
auf
means “to insist on,” while the same verb used with
aus
means “to consist of/be made of.” The verb
halten
can be used with a variety of prepositions,each of which gives the verb a different meaning:
halten für
,
halten an
,
halten von
,
halten zu
are all possible variations. The verb
sich freuen auf
means “to look forward to,” while
sich freuen über
means “to be glad about.” (Also see Confusing Words in German.)
Verbs and Prepositions: DA- and WO-Compounds
You will often see verb + preposition idioms in their
da
- or
wo
-compound forms. “Es kommt
darauf
an.” (“It depends.”) uses the preposition in itscompound form. In questions, a
wo
-compound is used. More examples:In the next chart, we list many common
verb
+
preposition
expressions alphabetically by verb.NEXT > Verb List (A-F)MORE > Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | QUIZ
Related PagesGerman Verbs
An index of all of our German verb pages.
Dative Verbs
Some German verbs must take a dative rather than an accusative object.
German Prepositions
A guide to the German prepositions.
German Accusative Prepositions
All about the German prepositions that take the accusative case.Ich halte nicht viel
davon
. (I don't think much of it.)
Wovon
hält er nicht viel? (What doesn't he think much of?)Er pfeift
darauf
. (He has contempt for it.)
Worauf
pfeift er? (What does he have contempt for?)Bewirbst du dich
darum
? (Are you applying for it?)
Worum
bewirbst du dich? (What are you applying for?)
11/15/13German Verbs with Prepositions 1 - German Lessongerman.about.com/library/verbs/blverb_prep01.htm3/3
German Dative Prepositions
All about the German prepositions that take the dative case, plus two-way prepositions.
English-German Glossaries
All of the annotated glossaries on this site - from aerospace to travel.
German Grammar
All of the grammar resources on this site.
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