Prefixes of mistake and change (ver-)

Welcome to the Lecture Hall

Let's set the scene before our absent-minded professor arrives:

Today there are many students sitting in the lecture hall.
Es sitzen heute viele Studenten im Hörsaal.

Reversing and Removing with ent-

The inseparable prefix ent- indicates removal, reversal, or separation. It undoes a base action or takes something away.

Then he fetches the cell phone in order to unlock the computer.
Dann holt er das Handy, um den Computer zu entsperren.
The assistant comes in order to remove the error.
Der Assistent kommt, um den Fehler zu entfernen.

Making Mistakes with ver-

The prefix ver- often shows that an action was done incorrectly or by mistake. Notice that many of these "mistake" verbs are reflexive (using pronouns like sich).

I believe that the professor is mixing up the passwords.
Ich glaube, dass der Professor die Passwörter vertauscht.
I believe that you are miscalculating, Professor!
Ich glaube, dass Sie sich verrechnen, Herr Professor!
It is embarrassing if one makes a writing mistake on the blackboard.
Es ist peinlich, wenn man sich an der Tafel verschreibt.

Breaking Things with zer-

The prefix zer- conveys that something is being destroyed, ruined, or broken into pieces.

He is angry and tears up an important document.
Er ist wütend und zerreißt ein wichtiges Dokument.
Suddenly the assistant breaks the chalk, which is very funny.
Plötzlich zerbricht der Assistent die Kreide, was sehr lustig ist.

Inseparable Prefixes in the Past Tense

As a reminder, verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add the ge- prefix when forming the past participle. Note that many of these verbs are strong, meaning they change their stem vowels in the past tenses.

The professor often misspoke and misread today.
Der Professor hat sich heute oft versprochen und verlesen.
The solution slipped his mind and the chalk broke.
Die Lösung entfiel ihm und die Kreide zerbrach.
Practice this lesson