Learning a verb in German might not be as easy as you think. There are pitfalls one might fall into. This article will help you avoid some of them. The only things you need for this tutorial are a quality dictionary, such as the one by Duden or Pons, and something to take notes on.
The first thing the we want to pay attention to is the concept. Be aware that some verbs in German can have one really good translation to English, and some German verbs can also have more than one translation to English. This is where your dictionary comes in. Keep this in mind.
Just like in English, many German verbs come with specific prepositions in order to express a certain meaning. Here is the pitfall one might fall into: if you don’t learn a verb correctly, you will likely not use the right prepositions, when they are needed. This can make your everyday speech sound unnatural. If an English learner were to say, “I am flying on the air,” you would know they meant “in the air.” This sort of thing can also happen, when we speak in German.
The word “für” in German can be translated in many cases as the word “for” in English. Heck, they even look and sound similar. The verb “to wait” in English takes the preposition “for”. We always wait for something. Let’s take a look at how one can form a sentence using the verb “to wait” in English.
Ex: I always wait for my princess.
When learning a German verb, many people look up the word and only learn the verb translation and think those are the only steps! Allow me to share better steps with you:
Step 1: Pull out that dictionary and look for the verb you want to translate from German to English.
Step 2: Examine it for a minute and grasp its translation. Write it down in your notes.
Step 3: If there are no prepositions, continue to step 4. If there are prepositions, jot the preposition(s) and the verb in your notes and then continue to step 4..
Step 4: Build a sentence using the verb and the preposition (if there is one) and write them into your notes.
Step 5: Study your notes, and apply what you’ve learned to your own German.
Use these steps for the verb “warten” really quick. Let’s see how one builds a sentence using the verb “warten” in German.
Ex: ich warte immer auf meine Prinzessin.
audio supplement: https://youtu.be/O8XxvIuM6wg
“warten” is the German translation for ”to wait”. However, although “für” can usually be translated with “for”. “Für” is not the right preposition for the verb “warten”. The correct preposition is actually “auf”. Someone who skips step 3 will probably come up with something like this:
Wrong: Ich warte immer für meine Prinzessin
This is a common mistake made by many native English speakers when speaking German. A native German speaker will most likely know what you are saying, but they will know it is wrong. A quality dictionary will give you the right prepositions for the verbs they belong to. This is just as important as learning the correct article (der, die and das) that belongs to a noun. Sometimes the preposition that makes sense to you will be the correct way to express something in German. In some cases you will be wrong. Unfortunately, you will have to memorize the correct prepositions. There is really no way around it other than to guess, but that won’t get us very far.
“Warten” was only one example. There is an unimaginable amount of more verbs that also have prepositions with them. Keep in mind that some might have more than one. Changing the preposition can change a sentence’s meaning completely. Be sure to keep practicing your German and watch those prepositions!
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