LinguaDie Satzklammer: the sentence bracket
Six more separable verbs for plans with other people: an|rufen (to call), ab|holen (to pick up), mit|kommen (to come along), zurück|kommen (to come back), ein|laden (to invite), aus|gehen (to go out). German grammar calls the two parts the Satzklammer, the sentence bracket: the verb part holds position 2, the prefix holds the last position, and the whole rest of the sentence goes between them, however long it gets: Ich rufe morgen um acht Uhr meine Mutter an. einladen changes its vowel: du lädst ein, er lädt ein.
| Infinitive | Meaning | With er / sie |
|---|---|---|
| anrufen | to call (on the phone) | ruft … an |
| abholen | to pick up | holt … ab |
| mitkommen | to come along | kommt … mit |
| zurückkommen | to come back | kommt … zurück |
| einladen | to invite | lädt … ein |
| ausgehen | to go out | geht … aus |
Wir holen Oma am Bahnhof ab.We’re picking Grandma up at the station.
Kommst du mit? – questions, and what the prefixes mean
Questions keep the bracket. A yes–no question starts with the verb part: Kommst du mit? A W-question puts the question word first: Wann kommt ihr zurück? In both, the prefix stays at the end – often alone, as the last word you hear. The prefixes carry meaning, which makes the verbs easier to remember: mit = along, zurück = back, aus = out, ein = in, ab = off, away.
Wir gehen heute Abend aus. Kommst du mit?We’re going out tonight. Are you coming along?
be-, ver-, er-: prefixes that never split
Not every prefix leaves. be-, ver- and er- are inseparable: they stay glued to the verb and are never stressed. besuchen (to visit): Ich besuche meine Oma. verstehen (to understand): Er versteht die Frage nicht. bekommen (to get, to receive): Sie bekommt einen Brief. erzählen (to tell): Opa erzählt eine Geschichte. A simple test is the stress: a stressed prefix (AUFstehen) splits, an unstressed be-, ver-, er- (beKOMmen) never does. And a warning for English speakers: bekommen does not mean “become”.
Am Sonntag besuchen wir Oma und Opa.On Sunday we visit Grandma and Grandpa.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| anrufen | to call (on the phone) | Tom ruft seine Oma jeden Tag an. Tom calls his grandma every day. |
| abholen | to pick up, to collect | Wer holt die Kinder von der Schule ab? Who’s picking the children up from school? |
| mitkommen | to come along | Mein Bruder kommt auch mit. My brother is coming along too. |
| zurückkommen | to come back | Wir kommen am Sonntag zurück. We’re coming back on Sunday. |
| einladen | to invite | Anna lädt uns zum Essen ein. Anna is inviting us for a meal. |
| ausgehen | to go out | Am Freitag gehen wir aus. On Friday we’re going out. |
| besuchen | to visit | Besuchst du uns bald? Will you visit us soon? |
| verstehen | to understand | Ich verstehe kein Wort. I don’t understand a word. |
| bekommen | to get, to receive | Ich bekomme viele E-Mails. I get a lot of emails. |
| erzählen | to tell (a story) | Mama erzählt jeden Abend eine Geschichte. Mum tells a story every evening. |
Exercises
This lesson has 12 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 4
- build the sentence: 2
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You want to know if Tom is coming along. Which question is correct?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.