As we saw a few weeks ago in the newsletter about the verb kaufen and its related verbs, prefixes are very important and can drastically change the meaning of the verb to which they are attached. You likely know the verb sprechen ("to speak"), but there are several verbs you can learn along with it that will expand your vocabulary greatly.
Besprechen means "to talk about" or "to discuss," whereas versprechen means "to promise." Widersprechen means "to contradict" or "to argue." These are all non-separable verbs.
Ich glaub, das müsste man dann auch eher mit dem Management besprechen.
I think we would have to talk to the management about that.
Caption 56, Cassandra Steen Interview - Part 3
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Die Zutatenliste haben wir nun besprochen.
We have now discussed the list of ingredients.
Caption 16, Cannelloni - mit Jenny - Part 1
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Versprechen Sie mir bitte, diesen Fehler nicht noch einmal zu begehen.
Please promise me not to make this mistake again.
Caption 56, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 1
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Zu verwirrt, um zu widersprechen, tat der junge Mann, was man ihm sagte.
Too confused to argue, the young man did as he was told.
Caption 50, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der gestiefelte Kater
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Ansprechen means "to address" (or more colloquially "to bring up a matter" or "to appeal to a person") and is a separable verb. Take a look at the examples below:
Bevor ich die Sitzung unterbreche, muss ich noch folgenden Sachverhalt ansprechen.
Before I suspend this session, I have to address the following matter.
Captions 43-44, Bundesregierung Vereidigung der Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel
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Ganz hinten auch gern, Leute, ihr seid auch angesprochen.
Also in the very back, people, you are also being addressed.
Caption 2, Wincent Weiss - Feuerwerk
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Welche Leute sprecht ihr an, wer kommt hierher zum Lernen und was können die Menschen hier beigebracht bekommen?
Which people are you addressing, who comes here to learn and what can people be taught here?
Captions 23-24, Lokalhelden - Art House - Part 2
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Further Learning
Here you can find a list of verbs that involve sprechen and information about whether they are separable or inseparable. See if you can find these on Yabla German to get an English translation.
Days of the week in English are, as proper nouns, always capitalized. In North American English, days of the week can also be used in an adverbial sense, such as "I go grocery shopping Mondays." So even though "Mondays" is technically an adverb in this sentence, it is still capitalized because of its origin as a proper noun.
Of course in German, all nouns are capitalized, and days of the week too. However, there are also cases in German where the days of the week are used in an adverbial sense, and we English native speakers must fight our instinctive tendency to try and capitalize these words. The days "Wednesday" and "Thursday," for example:
Ich möchte euch gerne die Wochentage beibringen...
I would like to teach you the days of the week...
Mittwoch, Donnerstag...
Wednesday, Thursday...
Captions 2-7, Lydia erklärt - Wochentage, Jahreszeiten und Monate
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Wir unterrichten an zwei Tagen
We teach on two days
während der Woche, mittwochs und donnerstags.
during the week, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Captions 25-26, Lokalhelden - Art House
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In the first example, the nouns Mittwoch and Donnerstag are capitalized, but the second example mittwochs and donnerstags are adverbs and thus remain lower case.
Man kann einfach, ähm,
One can simply, um,
sich wirklich mal schön locker machen am Freitagabend.
be really nice and relaxed on a Friday evening.
Caption 45, Frankfurt - Der Friedberger Platz
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Was ist das Schöne hier freitagabends herzukommen?
What is the nice thing about coming here on Friday evenings?
Caption 42, Frankfurt - Der Friedberger Platz
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In the above examples, it is clear that am Freitagabend is dealing with a noun, because of the definite preposition am, and the -s ending is a sure clue that freitagabends is an adjective that should be written lower case.
Further Learning
Brush up on your days of the week in their noun and adverbial forms on Yabla German.
In our last lesson on false friends, we discussed a few false cognates that begin with the letters C and D. Today, we're moving yet another step down the alphabet to learn about some falsche Freunde starting with E and F:
eventuell: maybe, possibly, perhaps
False English friend: eventually, finally, ultimately, at some later time (German: endlich, schließlich)
Ich rieche dran [daran],
I smell it,
ob die wirklich auch nach 'ner [einer] Erdbeere riecht,
[to see] if it also really smells like a strawberry,
und eventuell könnte ich noch oben schauen.
and maybe I could look on top.
Captions 23-24, Kochhaus Berlin - Frische Zutaten erkennen
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die Fabrik: factory
False English friend: fabric, cloth (German: der Stoff, das Gewebe)
Bald waren sie bei einer Fabrik, bei einer Farbenfabrik.
Soon they were at a factory, at a paint factory.
Caption 6, Piggeldy und Frederick - Malen
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der Fotograf: photographer
False English friend: photograph, an image taken by a camera (German: das Foto)
Also so richtig so dunkelkammermäßig so,
Well, so really like a darkroom,
wie die Fotografen das früher gemacht haben.
like the photographers used to do it.
Caption 52, Lokalhelden - Art House
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Further Learning:
Try to find more words in German and English that sound similar but have different meanings. For a thorough list of German false friends, take a look at this extensive chart and then search Yabla videos to find the words used in context!
Did you know that the Beatles, owing in part to the time they spent in Hamburg at the start of their career, released a version of "She Loves You” in German? Its title is „Sie liebt dich“.
The German noun and verb for love (Liebe, lieben) are used with more variety of meaning than “love” in English. So, liebe (dear) Yabla subscribers, let’s see all of the different ways we can make love work for us in German!
As illustrated above, the adjective liebe/lieber (dear) is used as an informal form of address. We see this usage in the following Yabla video, starting at the very top: with God.
Du lieber Gott, welchen Weg müssten die denn abends zurücklegen,
Dear God, which way would they have to travel in the evening,
wenn Köln Gulu wäre?
if Cologne were Gulu [a city in Uganda]?
Caption 47, World Vision - Wolfgang Niedecken
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Working our way down from God to tattoo exhibitions, we find:
Liebe Zuschauer, es fand eine Tattoo-Ausstellung in Frankfurt im Hotel "Roomers" statt.
Dear viewers, a tattoo exhibition took place in Frankfurt at the Hotel Roomers.
Caption 1, Tätowierungen - Tattoo-Ausstellung
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If you would prefer your Liebe to mean more than merely "dear," listen to how Thomas uses a variation of the root word (lieb) to mean “rather” or “preferably”:
Aber ich glaube, ich nehm' mir lieber ein Taxi.
But I believe I'd rather take a taxi.
Caption 49, Melanie und Thomas - treffen sich
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This can work to express superlative preferences as well:
Am liebsten vermutlich eine Sendung...
Most preferably, presumably, a broadcast...
Caption 54, Frauenfußball-WM - Der Bundespräsident am Ball
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If you prefer popularity to love, add the be- prefix for a refreshing change of meaning:
Orangensaft ist sehr beliebt in Deutschland.
Orange juice is very popular in Germany.
Caption 12, Jenny beim Frühstück - Teil 1
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Add -haber to lieb to stir up some enthusiasm:
Machst du ja auch Auftragswerke für Kunden oder für Interessent'... äh, Kunstliebhaber?
You also indeed do commissions for customers or for those interested... uh, art enthusiasts?
Caption 2, Lokalhelden - Art House
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Liebhaber can also mean “lover” in the more intimate sense:
Tristan und Isolde waren Liebhaber.
Tristan and Isolda were lovers.
And in the end, it is best to make love, even while preparing for war:
In zwei Sekunden Frieden stiften, Liebe machen und Feind vergiften...
In two seconds make peace, make love, and poison the enemy...
Caption 3, Andreas Bourani - Alles nur in meinem Kopf
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So you see that in German, the word for “love” (Liebe) is the basis for a number of different expressions ranging from “dear” to “preferably” to “enthusiast” to the actual object of one’s desire.
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