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Prefix ver- in German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| yong321 Groupie United States yong321.freeshe Joined 5477 days ago 80 posts - 104 votes  Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 6 04 July 2011 at 4:44am | IP Logged |
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German textbooks list some prefixes as having certain meanings. But ver- seems to change the meaning of the word to something unpredictable. Does ver- really have no rule to follow? How does the etimology go? Is there an online German dictionary with etimology?
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| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5534 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 2 of 6 04 July 2011 at 5:33pm | IP Logged |
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The German prefix "ver" has several old Germanic ancestors, which united, but were f.e. in Gothic still differenciated: faír (out), faúr (by) and fra (away). Compare Latin per, por, pro or Greek περι/παρ/προ. Therefore these verbs have a wider range of meaning.
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| translator2 Senior Member United States Joined 6854 days ago 848 posts - 1862 votes Speaks: English* | Message 3 of 6 04 July 2011 at 7:54pm | IP Logged |
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Inseparable verbal prefix for-
vergeben, 'to forgive', Inseparable verbal prefix that denotes a transition of the object into a state, which is indicated by the stem. lieben 'to love' → verlieben 'to fall in love' Inseparable verbal prefix indicating a negative action of the stem. laufen 'to walk → verlaufen 'to get lost' Edited by translator2 on 04 July 2011 at 7:59pm 7 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Witproduct Triglot Newbie Belgium Joined 5614 days ago 19 posts - 20 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, German Studies: French | Message 4 of 6 05 July 2011 at 1:32am | IP Logged |
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I'm also interested in the prefix 'zer-' which is usually used when you destroy
something. In Dutch we don't have the 'zer-'. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| emkaos Diglot Newbie Germany Joined 5215 days ago 9 posts - 19 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Korean | Message 5 of 6 06 July 2011 at 1:59am | IP Logged |
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I just googled for "Vorsilbe zer"
I didn't find anything on the etymology. As you said it points to destruction or at least something negative. With verbs like "brechen" (to break), adding the zer emphasizes the destruction. "brechen" has a wider spectrum of meanings, like "Licht brechen" (refract light), but "zerbrechen" always destroys something. edit: I thought about how I use zer for verbs that have similar meanings with zer and without, like "brechen" and "mahlen". I usually use the "zer" version for describing the state in which something is destroyed and the other version for the action. For example: Der Stuhl bricht! Nicht draufsetzen! but Die Tasse ist zerbrochen. or Kannst du mal bitte die Bohnen mahlen? but Das ist total zermahlen! Nicht mehr zu gebrauchen! Other words like "stören" and "zerstören" have completely different meanings. Edited by emkaos on 06 July 2011 at 2:08am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| translator2 Senior Member United States Joined 6854 days ago 848 posts - 1862 votes Speaks: English* | Message 6 of 6 06 July 2011 at 2:05am | IP Logged |
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Zer
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