One of the first phrases you learned in German was likely similar to the following: 

Hallo, mein Name ist Julia und ich komme aus Düsseldorf.

Hello, my name is Julia and I'm from Dusseldorf.

Caption 1, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Besuch

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Several German prepositions can be translated as "from," but when talking about the permanent fact of your country of origin or hometown, you will always use aus. 

There are instances, however, where von is used with the verb kommen to reference location. One is when you are talking about getting from place to place: 

Aber wie komme ich von Deutschland nach England oder Schottland?

But how do I get from Germany to England or Scotland?

Caption 16, Jenny: Reiseziele

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Wie komme ich von Stuttgart zum Europapark?

How do I get from Stuttgart to Europapark?

Caption 12, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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Kannst du mir bitte den Weg erklären, wie ich von hier aus am besten zur Stadthalle komme?

Can you please explain to me the way to get to City Hall most easily from here?

Captions 31-32, Melanie und Thomas: treffen sich

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In these sentences, von is paired with the appropriate preposition for the place that follows. 

Another instance in which the preposition von is used is when a person has just been somewhere and expresses that they have come directly from that location. 

Ich komme gerade von der Agentur für Arbeit.

I have just come from the employment agency.

Caption 19, Nicos Weg: Weiterbildung

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One thing to be aware of is that there are also two separable verbs, davonkommen and auskommen, which have distinct meanings. In this case, what looks like a preposition is actually part of the verb. 

Ich weiß gar nicht, wie die Menschen früher ohne Kreditkarte ausgekommen sind.

I have no idea how people got by before without credit cards.

Caption 18, Kein Kredit: im Land der Klone

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Das heißt, so ein Verleumder kommt einfach ungeschoren davon?

That means such a slanderer easily comes away unscathed?

Caption 22, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche

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Further Learning
After looking at these examples from Yabla German, create your own sentences or questions (one of each type!) to practice saying out loud. 

While many people in Germany have just come back from their Osterferien, people in the United States and elsewhere may already be thinking about trips they might take during summer vacation (der Sommerurlaub or die Sommerferien). This month, we'll devote a few lessons to looking at essential travel vocabulary in German.

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You may remember how much trouble Jenny had deciding what kind of vacation to take. In German, a trip to a city is called die Städtereise, but many people like to keep things a bit more low key: 

Ah, klar, ich könnte eine Kreuzfahrt mit dem Schiff machen.

Ah, right, I could take a cruise with a ship.

Caption 32, Jenny: Reiseziele

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Strandurlaub bei Windstärke sechs...

Beach vacation with a wind velocity of six...

Caption 42, Traumberuf: Windsurfer

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Once decided, you'll have to plan your trip and make the necessary reservations: 

Ich möchte gerne eine Reise zum Europapark buchen.

I would like to book a trip to Europapark.

Caption 4, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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In der Hauptsaison empfiehlt es sich zu reservieren.

In high season, it is recommended to make a reservation.

Caption 37, Reisebericht Luxemburg

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Part of the planning is figuring out how you are going to get to your destination. 

Stattdessen mit Bus und Bahn zum Reiseziel fahren.

Instead, travel by bus and train to your destination.

Caption 44, WissensWerte: Tourismus und Nachhaltigkeit

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Also mit dem Auto würde ich heute nicht fahren.

So, I wouldn't go by car today.

Caption 45, Deutsch mit Eylin Das Wetter

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Von dort können Sie ein Auto mieten oder mit dem Bus fahren.

From there you can rent a car or travel by bus.

Caption 13, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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Damit höre ich manchmal Musik, wenn ich im Zug oder im Flugzeug sitze.

Sometimes I listen to music with them when I'm on the train or on a plane.

Captions 23-24, Deutsch mit Eylin: Denk schnell!

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Auf dem Schiff haben fünfhundertsechzehn Gäste Platz, richtig viel Platz.

There is room on the ship for five hundred and sixteen guests, really a lot of space.

Caption 10, Kreuzfahrtschiff: An Bord der Europa 2

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Hallo, liebe Yabla-Schüler, ich stehe heute hier auf einer Fähre.

Hello dear Yabla students, I am standing here today on a ferry.

Caption 1, Unterwegs mit Cettina: an der Rheinfähre

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Further Learning

More travel vocabulary is coming! In the meantime, we have so many fun travel videos on Yabla German. Just do a quick search and you'll quickly find yourself in Heidelberg, Innsbruck, or the Alps! You may want to also check out this video on tourism and sustainability.

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:

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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.

Irgendwie fängt irgendwann irgendwo die Zukunft an.

Somehow, somewhere the future begins sometime.

Caption 4, Nena - Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann

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Again, we are happy to respond to a subscriber request! The lyrics above by German singer Nena are a good point of departure for a lesson on irgend, which as a prefix has a similar function to “some-” or “any-” in English. It is used to augment adverbs and pronouns to demonstrate a lack of specificity or information. 

Irgendwo is perhaps the simplest of these words, translating to “somewhere.”  

Du wirst bestimmt irgendwo am Strand sein. -Ja, genau. Am Meer.

You will surely be somewhere at the beach. -Yes, exactly. At the sea.

Caption 50, Konjugation - Das Verb „sein“

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Irgendwie translates to “somehow,” but is also used in spoken German to express “in some way,” “in any way,” or even “sort of.”

Irgendwie muss man ihr ja helfen.

Somehow she has to indeed be helped.

Caption 5, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche

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The adverb irgendwann covers the English phrases “someday,” “sometime,” or “at some point,” which means it can refer to a non-specific time in either the past or the future. 

Aber irgendwann, als man mich nicht mehr gezwungen hat,

But at some point, when I wasn't forced to anymore

hab ich dann meine persönliche Liebe zur Musik entdeckt.

I discovered my own love for music.

Captions 36-37, Deutsche Bands - Glashaus

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But let’s not stop here! You have also probably seen irgendein and irgendwelche, which translate to “any” or “some.” The important thing to remember is that they behave similarly to adjectives and will always have the appropriate ending based on the conditions of the sentence. As you might guess, irgendein is never used in the plural.

Nun, wenn Sie irgendwelche Fragen haben:

So, if you have any questions,

Ich werde in meinem Büro sein.

I will be in my office.

Caption 49, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Haben Sie den Namen von irgendeiner Autovermietung?

Do you have the name of any car rental [company]?

Caption 16, Reiseplanung - Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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For the pronoun “someone” or “somebody,” it is common to see both irgendwer and irgendjemand. 

Irgendjemand kocht Kaffee In der Luftaufsichtsbaracke.

Someone is making coffee In the air traffic control hut.

Captions 29-30, Reinhard Mey - Über den Wolken

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You may also have seen irgendwas and irgendetwas. These are more or less synonyms, which are even less specific than etwas (“something”) and are usually translated as “anything.”

Sagen Sie mir Bescheid, wenn ich irgendetwas tun kann.

Tell me if I can do anything.

Caption 58, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Further Learning
There are a myriad of examples on Yabla German where you can see these words in use. Make sure you understand the declensions required for irgendein and irgendwelche. Irgendjemand and irgendwer also sometimes require a different ending — can you figure out when this might occur?

In English there is only one word for “when,” but in German there are three words: wann, wenn, and als. In German, it’s very important to use the correct word, otherwise the whole meaning of the sentence can change.

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Wann is a question word used to ask “at what time” directly as a question, as Diane demonstrates:

Und wann läuft der?

And when does it start [run]?

Caption 40, Diane erklärt - Fragewörter

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When you ask a question about the past, you also need to use wann:

Wann hast du Wiener Kurti zuletzt gesehen?

When did you last see "Wiener Kurti" [a nickname]?

Caption 67, Alexander Hauff - Showreel

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Or when you ask indirectly, as Piggeldy does to Frederick when talking about the arrival of summer:

Dann wollen wir mal den Frühling fragen, wann der Sommer kommt.

Then we want to ask spring when summer is coming.

Caption 17, Piggeldy und Frederick - Sommer

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Wenn is the most common form of “when,” referring to time in the following examples:

Wenn er hinter der Bar steht, gibt er alles,

When he is standing behind the bar, he gives it everything,

wie viele seiner Kollegen.

like many of his colleagues.

Caption 34, Cocktails mixen - So „shaken“ die Besten

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When planning a journey, you would use wenn as shown here:

OK, und wenn ich im Europapark bin,

OK, and when I arrive at Europapark,

wo kann ich dann übernachten?

where can I spend the night [stay]?

Caption 21, Reiseplanung - Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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Wenn doesn’t just mean “when”; in German it is also used to express “if”:

Wir würden uns freuen, wenn alle Menschen auf PETA de [www.peta.de] unsere Onlinepetition unterstützen.

We would be happy, if all people would support our online petition on PETA de [www.peta.de].

Caption 13, PETA-Aktion - Gegen das Wal-Massaker

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And the third word for “when” is als, which is always used to describe an event that has already happened or a single point in time. Wann or wenn just wouldn’t be correct here. Remember this and you’re halfway there!

Und haben Sie schon mal gedacht irgendwann,

And did you ever think, at some point,

als Sie Ihre Fotos gesehen haben...

when you saw your photos...

Caption 30, Bambi-Verleihung - No-Gos auf dem Roten Teppich

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It's also shown here as Angela Merkel talks about a past atrocity:

Als im Herbst eine rechtsextremistische Terror- und Mörderbande aufgedeckt wurde.

When in the fall a right-wing extremist terrorist [organization] was uncovered.

Caption 58, Angela Merkel - Neujahrsansprache

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So as you see, distinguishing between wann, wenn, and als is not so difficult if you remember the basics outlined above!