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Separable Verbs and Related Prepositions, Part II

Today we'll continue with the second part of separable verbs and related prepositions, taking a look at how the same words with different meanings can sometimes occur 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:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Preposition: aus (from, out, of)
Separable verbs: ausbilden (to educate, to train); ausbrechen (to break out); ausdrucken (to print); ausdrücken (to express); ausflippen (to lose control); ausgeben (to hand out); ausgehen (to go out, ausgehen von to assume); auslachen (to laugh at); ausmachen (to turn off, to put out); ausnutzen (to take advantage); ausschließen (to lock out, to exclude); aussprechen (to pronounce); aussterben (to die out, to go extinct); austauschen (to exchange).

 

Ich gehe heut Nacht aus...

I'm going out tonight...

Caption 5, Beatrice Egli - Mein Herz

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Ihr müsst schon aus Mitleid in den Film alle gehen.

You all have to go see the film just out of pity.

Caption 39, Mario Barth und Paul Panzer - Männersache

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In the first instance above, the separable verb ausgehen is used, but although the verb gehen appears in the second example, the word aus here is a preposition, not part of a separable verb. Using aus as part of the separable verb ausgehen and additionally as a preposition could look like this:

 

Aus Angst vor einer Erkältung gehe ich im Winter nicht mehr so oft aus.
For fear of catching a cold, I don't go out as often in winter.

 

Preposition: mit (with, along)
Separable verbs: mitbekommen (to understand, to notice); mitfahren (to ride along); mitfühlen (to sympathize); mitmachen (to participate); mitnehmen (to take along); mitspielen (to play along); mitteilen (to inform, to share knowledge);

 

Peppa, fährst du beim Rennen auch mit?

Peppa, are you going to ride along in the race as well?

Caption 26, Peppa Wutz - Sport

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Dürfen wir denn dann mit Ihnen mit Ihrem Auto und Blaulicht fahren?

May we drive with you in your car with blue lights then?

-Ja?

-Yes?

Caption 36, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern

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In the first example above, the separable verb mitfahren means "to ride along." But in the second instance, the standard verb fahren is used twice with the preposition mit, which in this context translates as "with" and "in." We can also alter this sentence using the separable verb mitfahren:

 

Fahren wir mit Ihnen mit Ihrem Auto und Blaulicht mit?
Are we riding along with you in your car with blue lights?

 

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.