Let’s be honest: German verbs are confusing and can easily bring German learners to the verge of despair. In our last article, we took a look at the conditions under which separable verbs, also known as particle verbs (Partikelverben), are separated. An example of a separable verb is:
einkaufen (to buy) → ich kaufe ein (I buy)
But there’s a similar group of verbs, known as prefix verbs (Präfixverben), that may look similar at a first glance, but they’re not separated:
verkaufen (to sell) → ich verkaufe (I sell)
You may now wonder: Why is einkaufen (to buy) separable, but verkaufen (to sell) isn’t? This article will explain why and shed on the most important similarities and differences between particle verbs and prefix verbs.
Particle or Prefix: What’s the Difference?
Both particle verbs and prefix verbs are derived from “regular” verbs in most cases. This verb is called base verb (Grundverb). Particle verbs and prefix verbs are formed by adding one or more syllables to the beginning of the base verb, thereby creating a new word.
In our last article, we learned that the syllable ein of einkaufen is a particle (Partikel). Even though einkaufen looks like a single word, it’s actually two words: the verb kaufen (to buy) and the particle ein (literally: in). In main clauses, the particle is separated from the verb if the verb is in a finite verb form. You can read more about this in our last article.
Prefix verbs like verkaufen (to sell), however, are a single word. In contrast to particles, the syllable ver can not be a word on its own, but always stands at the beginning of the verb and is part of it. A preceding syllable, which can’t be separated from the verb, is called prefix (Präfix).
So, the main difference is that particle verbs can be separated in main clauses (if the verb is in a finite form), while prefix verbs are always written as one word – with the prefix at the beginning. But that’s not the only difference.
Word Stress of Prefix and Particle Verbs
For prefix verbs, the stress is always on the base verb, while the prefix is unstressed. Here a few examples of prefix verbs, with the stressed syllables underlined:
- verkaufen (to sell) → ich verkaufe (I sell)
- beenden (to end) → ich beende (I end)
- verlieren (to lose) → ich verliere (I lose)
- überlegen (to ponder) → ich überlege (I ponder)
In contrast, for separable verbs, the stress is always on the particle:
- einkaufen (to buy) → ich kaufe ein (I buy)
- aufstehen (to get up) → ich stehe auf (I get up)
- abfahren (to drive off) → ich fahre ab (I drive off)
- mitnehmen (to take along) → ich nehme mit (I take along)
The reason for the difference in stress is that particles are words on their own, while prefixes are not.
Past Participles of Prefix and Particle Verbs
The past participle (Partizip II) is generally formed with the prefix ge. For example:
kochen (to cook) → gekocht (cooked)
The past particle is used to form some tenses and the passive:
- Perfekt (perfect): Ich habe gekocht. (I have cooked.)
- Plusquamperfekt (past perfect): Ich hatte gekocht. (I had cooked.)
- Passiv (passive): Das Gemüse wird gekocht. (The vegetables are being cooked.)
However, some verbs do not have ge in the past participle. These also include prefix verbs:
- verkaufen (to sell) → verkauft (sold; not:
geverkauft) - beenden (to end) → beendet (ended; not:
gebeendet) - verlieren (to lose) → verloren (lost; not:
geverloren) - überlegen (to ponder) → überlegt (pondered; not:
geüberlegt)
Prefix verbs, as the name suggests, already possess a prefix. When forming the past participle, we do not need to add any additional prefix.
Particle verbs, in contrast, do not the prefix ge in their past particle, but mind its position: As already mentioned, particle verbs are actually two individual words, namely a particle and a verb. The prefix ge belongs to the verb and not the particle. Therefore, it’s added between the particle and the base verb. Here are a few examples:
- einkaufen (to buy) → eingekauft (bought)
- aufstehen (to get up) → aufgestanden (gotten up)
- abfahren (to drive off) → abgefahren (driven off)
- mitnehmen (to take along) → mitgenommen (taken along)
As we learned in our last article, particles are nonfinite verb forms. Therefore, the particle is not separated from the verb. Consequently, the prefix ge always comes between the particle and the base verb.
With one exception: If the base verb forms the past participle without the prefix ge, then the particle verb won’t have that prefix either. This is, for example, the case if the infinitive of the verb ends in ieren. All verbs that end with ieren form the past participle without ge:
studieren (to study) → studiert (studied; not:
gestudiert)
If a particle verb derives from such a verb, then the past participle of the particle verb won’t have ge added to it either:
weiterstudieren (to continue to study) → weiterstudiert (continued to study; not:
weitergestudiert)
The zu-Infinitive of Prefix and Particle Verbs
German, like many other European languages, has subordinate clauses (Nebensätze) with the verb in the infinitive (Infinitiv) rather than a finite form. These infinitive clauses (Infinitivsätze) are formed with zu + infinitive. Here is an example:
Er isst viel Obst und Gemüse, um gesund zu bleiben.
(He eats a lot of fruit and vegetables in order to stay healthy.)
Like the prefix ge, the word zu comes before the verb, but in contrast to ge, it is a separate word. Because particle verbs are two words, while prefix verbs are only one word, infinitive clauses show a similar difference as past participles:
- Prefix verb: Ich lerne viel, um eine gute Note zu bekommen.
(I study a lot in order to get a good grade.) - Particle verb: Sie versucht, das Fenster aufzumachen.
(She’s trying to open the window.)
A prefix verb is a single word, namely a verb. The word zu is added in front of the verb. A particle verb, on the other hand, contains two words, namely a particle and a verb. Also for particle verbs, zu is placed in front of the verb, therefore it’s inserted between the particle and the verb.
Normally, zu is written as a separate word before the verb. In the case of particle verbs, where it’s put between the particle and the verb, it’s written as one word together with the particle and the verb. Strictly speaking, they’re still three individual words.
Conclusion
While particle verbs and prefix verbs look similar at first glance, there are some fundamental differences between the two types of verbs. For the most part, these differences can be explained by the fact that particle verbs are two individual words, while prefix verbs are a single word:
- Finite main clauses: You can clearly see that particle verbs are made up of two individual words in finite main clauses, where the particle is separated from the verb and moved to the end of the sentence. A prefix verb, on the other hand, is a single word; the prefix is always part of the verb and can’t be separated from it.
- Stress: Particles are words on their own, which is why they can be stressed. Prefixes, on the other hand, are only “secondary” syllables of the verb, which is why the stress remains on the base verb.
- Past participle: The past particle, which is used to form some tenses and the passive, is usually formed by adding the prefix ge to the beginning of the word. In the case of prefix verbs, which by definition already have a prefix, you do not add ge in the past participle. As for particle verbs, the prefix ge is added to the beginning of the verb, meaning you insert it between the particle and the verb. If the base verb forms the past participle without ge (e.g. if it ends with ieren), then the particle verb won’t have ge either.
- zu-infinitive: For infinitive clauses, you add the word zu before the verb. As a prefix verb as a whole is one single verb, you add zu in front of the entire prefix verb. Particle verbs, on the other hand, are to separate words; zu is added before the verb, or in other words: between the particle and the verb. In the case of particle verbs, particle + zu + verb are written as one word.
The article explained the main differences between prefix and particle verbs. However, there are also special cases that require particular attention. These will be covered in a future article. Subscribe now to our weekly newsletter to not miss any articles!