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German: Verb prefixes | ||
Tags: Verbs/Conjugation | German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5711 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes  Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 9 of 12 09 March 2014 at 12:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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-schalten needs a switch. Like, you can use it for an electric light, for an electric stove, a computer. -machen is more generic and also works for lighting a fire, turning on a water tap (to confuse you even more, it can also be used for putting dressing on a salad and for trying to chat somebody up or pick a fight with somebody).
So, I think -schalten feels more precise and accurate, maybe overly so. Also, I think anschalten means you switch something on and then it runs, and einschalten means you switch something on, and then it boots, or is otherwise useable? Not too sure about this. Zumachen works for closing a shop for the day, fastening buttons, putting the lid on a jar, shutting the door etc. Schließen conjures up the image of a lock and locking something up, so I think it's more finite, and a bit more formal. It can also be used when a shop is going out of business. I think you can use both zumachen and schließen for doors and windows, but schließen feels more like you want to shut out the rest of the world? Oh, and I would expect -schalten and schließen in non-colloquial written German. (To cover the other meanings there are many other verbs - you can say "ein Feuer anmachen" or "ein Feuer anzünden"; "Wer hat das Wasser angemacht?" or "Wer hat den Wasserhahn aufgedreht?" etc.) Edited by Bao on 09 March 2014 at 1:30pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5544 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 10 of 12 09 March 2014 at 10:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well, a problem are additional meanings: You can "ein Mädchen anmachen" (to turn a girl on) or "von der Arbeit abschalten" (relax from work)
When I close the shop where I work, I usually say to the late clients with a grim face "wir SCHLIEßen jetzt!" (well, only if I am really in a bad mood). I does not mean, that we will close up the shop forever, but it does indeed sound more finite than "Ich mache den Laden jetzt zu". I think you can always replace "zumachen" by "schließen" and vice versa, only "schließen" is a tiny bit more formal and affirmative. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5711 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 11 of 12 10 March 2014 at 12:02am | IP Logged | ||
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I think I mentioned the first one, and I meant to say while schließen feels more finite and more formal, in many cases zumachen and schließen are used interchangeably. I could even imagine somebody saying schließen for something like buttons. My grandma?
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| Mork the Fiddle Senior Member United States Joined 3914 days ago 86 posts - 159 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Norwegian, Latin, Ancient Greek | Message 12 of 12 10 March 2014 at 12:20am | IP Logged | ||
Old English "hyran" also meant both 'obey' and 'hear.' (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyran). 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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