Verbs: What You Can Say with the Prefix “be”

Gendarmenmarkt, April 2012

Verbs are usually seen as indispensable for creating a sentence. It doesn’t make much sense to have a couple of nouns hanging out with some adjectives and doing nothing. Only verbs can keep them busy. Who would have thought then that verbs represent only a pathetic minority. No more than two percent of the German vocabulary are verbs, only 900 to 1.000 words. However, the German language has a nice tool to make them look larger than life: the prefix, little guys consisting of two or three letters who can be attached to many verbs (or many verbs can be attached to them, depend on your viewpoint). There are only a dozen of them, but they can increase the meaning of a verb exponentially and quadruple the chance of a life-changing misunderstanding.

Don’t tinker with prefixes like an-, auf-, zu-, er-, ver-, emp-, ein-, aus-, ge- etc. unless you know exactly what you want to say.

With the verb fallen or example you can simply fall. With the prefix auf– , thus auffallen, you stand out, with ver– as in verfallen your talent declines, with ge– as in gefallen you will please.

Today, we are going to look at the prefix be-.

The prefix be– is especially treacherous because very often (not always) it does not change the meaning of the verb directly. A moment ago, staunen (to be astonished) was a nice, independent verb, only committed to the subject of the sentence, something that is capable of staunen, a human being or some animal. Now, with the prefix be– it needs an object, something to marvel at: Wir bestaunen das Teatro Colón, the great opera theater in Buenos Aires.

In many cases (not in all cases), the prefix be– changes an intransitive verb, a verb that does not have an object like leben (to live), into a transitive verb, a verb that needs an object, like beleben (to revive, to revitalize, to activate).

Other examples are…

– lügen (to lie) > belügen (to lie to someone): Das Volk belügt die Politiker (just kidding);

– zahlen (to pay) > bezahlen (to pay for something): Ich bezahle das Bier;

– urteilen (to judge, to pronounce a judgement) > beurteilen (to judge or to evaluate something or someone): Die Kritiker beurteilen den Tenor.

– lächeln (to smile) > belächeln (to smile at something or someone condescendingly): Die Diva belächelt den Bühnenarbeiter.

Other verbs change their objects after they got aquainted with be-. The verb singen can stand alone, like the soprano on the stage: Sie singt. It can have an object, too: Sie singt das Schubert-Lied.

With besingen however, she celebrates or praises something. She sings the Schubert-Lied, but sie besingt die Liebe.

Other examples are…

– antworten (to answer a person, dative) > beantworten (to answer a letter, e-mail, twitter, questions etc.),

– schenken (to give something as a gift) > beschenken (to give a gift to a person),

– bauen (to build a building) > bebauen (to build a building on something, for instance, a piece of land),

– fahren (to drive a vehicle) > befahren > (to drive a vehicle on a street, alley, Autobahn etc.).

Sometimes, be– modifies the verb’s meaning:

– fragen (to ask a question) > befragen (to consult, to canvass, to interrogate, to survey)

– grüßen (to greet) > begrüßen (to welcome someone)

– raten (to advice) > beraten (to consult)

Next update: Sunday, May 6^th .

Practice the Numbers with Your Agent’s Call. The Numbers, Part III

Komische Oper, Berlin

You are receiving a phone call from your German agent. Fill in the correct cardinal, ordinal and fractional numbers.

“Hallo, spreche ich mit sechs, vier, sechs, vierhundertdreiundachtzig, elf, neun? ( _ _ _. ___ __ _)

Ich bin’s, Ihr Agent. Die Staatsoper in XY-Stadt will Sie als zweite ( _ ) Besetzung für die erste ( _ ) Sängerin in Mozarts ‘Schauspieldirektor’. Und zwar für den zehnten ( __ ), elften ( __ ), und dreizehnten ( __ ) Zehnten ( __ ), sowie für den dritten ( __ ), vierten ( __ ) und siebten ( __ ) Elften.

Ich habe ein Zimmer im Hotel Schiller für Sie gebucht, Zimmer dreihundertsiebzehn ( ___ ). Sie werden da am neunten ( __ ) Zehnten ( __ ) um siebzehn ( __ ) Uhr erwartet.

Im Theater melden sie sich dann am nächsten Morgen um vierzehn ( __ ) Uhr bei Kapellmeister Schröder in Raum neunzehn ( __ ), vierte ( _ ) Etage.

Er will mit Ihnen noch über die sechzehntel ( __ ) Noten reden, mit den Achteln ( __ ) war er ja zufrieden.

Die Gage? Die Gage wollte der Operndiektor halbieren ( ___________ ). Aber ich habe ihn überzeugt, sie zu verdoppeln ( ___________ ). Ich erwarte eine zwanzigprozentige ( ___ )Kommission.

Fragen? Rufen Sie mich an: null ( _ ) vier ( _ ) drei ( _ ) acht ( _ ), neunzig ( __ ), elf ( __ ), einundzwanzig ( __ ).”

Having received this phone call, fill in the correct numbers and the correct words (months).

Was ist Ihre Telefonnummer? ___________________

Was ist die Telefonnummer des Agenten? ___________________

Für welche Monate will er Sie buchen? ___________________

An welchen Tagen in diesen Monaten sollen Sie singen? ___________________

Wann haben Sie einen Termin mit Kapellmeister Schröder? ___________________

Um wie viel Uhr? ___________________

Wie hoch ist die Kommission Ihres Agenten? ___________________

Next update: Sunday,  April  29.

Welches Datum haben wir heute? The Numbers. Part II

The name says it all: Pudelsalon in Schöneberg.

There are numbers, independent beings, called cardinal numbers, that exist for themseves, like fünfzehn, zwanzig, hundert, drei. When a noun hires them as their attribute, they are called ordinal numbers.

Ordinal numbers are attributed to a noun, and therefore, they are adjectives. They must be treated like adjectives with all declinations. The ending –te makes a cardinal number an ordinal number. The ordinal numbers for 1, 3 and 7 are irregular: erste, dritte, siebte.
Ich bin die erste Sängerin. Heute haben wir den achten November. Der November ist der elfte Monat im Jahr. Also: Heute haben wir den achten Elften (8.11. or, the English way, 11/8).

Bei dem zweiten Vorsingen hat er Erfolg gehabt.

When we write the number itself, we do not add the ordinal ending like 42^nd Street or 5^th Avenue. Instead, we mark the ordinal number with a dot: 42. Straße, 5. Avenue.

We can create a noun from a number as we can do with an adjective or verb.

Der Schnellste ist immer der Erste.
Jeden Ersten bekommen wir die Gage. (Every first of the month we’ll get the singer’s salary. Hopefully.)

When we break up the numbers, we create fractional numbers (½ to ¼).

We create fractions by adding -tel (or -el with acht) to the word end:
ein Viertel, eine achtel Note, eine sechszehntel Note.

The irregular fractions are 2, 3, and 7:

½ = ein halb, 1/3 = ein Drittel, 1/7 = ein Siebtel. 1 ½ = anderthalb or eineinhalb.

The verb halbieren means to divide something in half or to bisect. Common as verbs are also dritteln or vierteln.

If we want the division smaller we should circumscribe:
in acht, zehn, zwölf etc. Teile (parts) teilen.

Often, in German we combine a word with a number:
die zwanzigjährige Sängerin, der Zehnjähige, die zweimonatige Tournee, die dreitägige Konferenz, mit achtzigprozeniger Wahrscheinlichkeit.

When we add -fach we make it x-fold stronger, weaker, bigger, smaller etc.:
An der Hamburger Oper verdiene ich gut, doch an der Berliner Oper verdiene ich das Fünffache (This is just an example; please do not get too excited.)

There are verbs that describe the activity of increasing something x-times:

verdoppeln = to double, verdreifachen, vervierfachen, verzehnfachen etc.

Next update: Sunday, April 22^nd – Practice the Numbers with Your Agent’s Call

Nein, ich bin die erste Sängerin! The Numbers. Part I.

Distracted by a bird while ordering a Currywurst.

You will learn numbers very quickly or perhaps you already know a few, for in theaters and in opera nothing goes without them. Rows, seats and ranks in the opera house and the ranks in its hierarchy are arranged by number. You will need to talk about the numbers presented to you in a contract, especially in the income section. You will have to understand the fractions the Kapellmeister shouts at you when he or she wants you to sing certain notes. You will have to grasp the telephone numbers, dates and times, a stressed-out agency secretary rattles through to you on the phone.

First of all, believe it or not, there are two words in German for number (well, that’s what a number is all about, isn’t it?): die Zahl and die Nummer.

Die Zahl has no meaning, no content; it’s a naked number without purpose. 10 or 250 or 5 Millionen whatever. Zahlen (plural) are the result of calculations. We read them on the calculator’s display.

Nummern (plural), however, have a meaning. They tell you how to reach someone on the phone (Telefonnummer), what house you are living in (Hausnummer), where your money has gone (to your landlord’s Bankkontonummer or Kontonummer).

The Cardinal Numbers

When it comes to numbers greater than twelve, the cardinal numbers are formulated differently in German than in English.

1 eins … 11 elf, 12 zwölf; and then to speak the numbers between 12 and 20 we take the number zehn and precede it with the single number:

dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn,

sechzehn (here we drop the s and pronounce -ch like in lächeln or München)

siebzehn (here we drop the -en from sieben)

achtzehn, neunzehn, zwanzig

We form the numbers greater than 20 in the reverse order to that used in English. In English we say twenty one but in German we say einundzwanzig

22 = 2 + 20 zweiundzwanzig, 33 = 3 + 30 dreiunddreißig, 44 = 4 + 40 vierundvierzig.

On it’s own the word zig, , stands for umpteen.

In New York habe ich zig tausend Dollar verdient. (In New York I made many thousands of dollars.)

English-speakers tend to confuse the endings. Instead of -ig they say -zehn. They want to express the number 99 but might say neunundneunzehn, or they might say siebzehn when they mean 70. The difference in sound may be small, but the difference on the contract will surprise you after the agent has scribbled down your idea what you wish to earn in the next production of “Hänsel und Gretel”.

Also, English-speakers use the word Zeit when they want to express the frequency of events or actions. In German, the word is mal.

Ich habe die Turandot zehn mal gesungen.

I’ve sung Turandot ten times.

Next update on Sunday, April 15^th : Welches Datum haben wir heute?  The Numbers. Part II.

A Great Contribution to Mankind: Das Formular

Intricate systems of lines and boxes: now UNESCO world heritage

I have to interrupt the usual flow of information about the German language and share with you exciting news.

Today, on April 1^st , many Germans are standing tall and congratulating each other. Last night, news broke that UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, will declare the German Formblatt or Formular (n, plural: Formulare) as the property of the cultural heritage of humanity. Finally, after many years of lobbying by the German government and after many inspections by an international expert team of the United Nations, the paper form or Formular, as it has been refined and cultivated in Germany, is from now on considered throughout the world as the great, if not greatest contribution the German populace has made to the welfare of mankind.

Formulare,  these papers with their intricate systems of lines, numbers and boxe, with their subtle questions and affectionate instructions, will live and flourish forever nder the protection of the United Nations, side by side with the pyramids in Egypt, the Sydney opera house and the Sichuan great panda sanctuaries. People around the world envy the Germans for the unique opportunity in their country to drink good beer, eat real bread and fill out a Formular.

Every morning for the last couple of weeks, the author of these lines marvels at the tax form he has to deliver soon to the local tax department, the Finanzamt. It lies on his desk and consists of altogether ten pages. Several pages are identical to give him the chance to spend his hours more useful by giving the same information several times and fulfilling the needs of subdivisions and sub-subdivisions of the Finanzamt. In return, he is given a wonderful gift, namely the only place in the landscape of Formulare where he can compile all numbers the government has ever assigned to him: The tax number – of course – and a certain Federal Identification Number of a still unidentified purpose, the number of the national ID card or passport, the number of the semi-governmental healthcare provider and the number of the federal pension administration.

While in some cultures people trade kisses on their cheeks or give flowers when they visit each other, Germans exchange little quotes from their tax form, written on fine stationary and handed over at the doorstep: “Anlage S: In den Zeilen 4 bis 7, 9 und 10 nicht enthaltener steuerfreier Teil der Einkünfte, für die das Teileinkünfteverfahren gilt.” (Please note the discrete exclusion of line 8 as well as the positioning of three ü-umlauts in the last third of the sentence.)

Instead of flowers, the young and the successful surprise their fiancées on valentine’s day with deckle-edged paper, containing a personal note with the payment instruction from the Formblatt of the federal pension administration (Deutsche Rentenversicherung), a beacon of clarity: “Die Beiträge sind spätestens bis zum drittletzten Bankarbeitstag des Kalendermonats, für den sie gelten, zu zahlen.” (First the imperative, “sind zu zahlen”, which makes the instruction so personal, than a new definition of time, only Einstein could have written, namely the “antepenultimate bank working day of the month in which the fees are due”, finally the relative clause that lets “zu zahlen” flap in the wind like a white handkerchief in the hand of a young longing lady.)

By early this morning, most TV commentators and experts of international affairs agree that the main reason for the decision of the UNESCO was the German government’s effort to channel its compassion for the jobless people solely through paper forms. Normally, a woman or a man who lost his or her job, will also lose a great deal of self-confidence and the sense of purpose in this world, but at the door of the unemployment agency – or Jobcenter (one word) as it is officially called – they are greeted by a bouquet of 16 pages Formulare that will keep them busy and happy for the nights to come. In a separate form, the unemployed can ask the Jobcenter to reimburse the postage they have to buy to send out their resumes. The title of the form is “Antrag auf Gewährung einer Förderung aus dem Vermittlungsbudget gem. … (than follows the exact title of the law, composed of six words, six abbreviations, two symbols and five numbers) … für die Anbahnung einer versicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigung bzw. schulischen Ausbildung”. On three pages, the unemployed person is allowed to express all kinds of information about the resumes, the recipients of the resumes, what kind of work they applied for, their bank account and – the postage itself. The postage will only be reimbursed when the applicant attaches copies of the resumes in question and copies of the letters the companies had send in response. (The copy costs may exceed the postage, actually.)

In a hastily organized ceremony at the Bundesdruckerei, the printing plant for federal ID cards and other official documents, the recently elected president, the chancellor, the coach of the national football (or soccer) team as well as important people from the film, fishing and lottery business will honor the creators of the Formblatt. There are hundreds of thousands of them in the whole country, on all levels of the government and in institutions, and today, some of them will come forward from the darkness of anonymity and talk for the first time about their hard work, how they design Formular questions, and how they draft denials for the answers they get.

Just a moment ago, a young man who works as a Formulardesigner in an agency of the Berlin city government, was shown on TV as he entered his office building. The journalists asked him about his driving motive for his work, his ultimate mission. He offered only one word as answer: “Empathy”.

This afternoon, children from a school in the neighborhood will present him a selection of little Formulare they have created in art class as a symbol, as a reminder that this beautiful trademark of German culture will be handed down from one generation to the next, so it will never die out.
Next update: Sunday, April 8th