Breakdown of Du musst mich wiederbeleben!
ich
I
du
you (informal singular)
müssen
to have to, must
wiederbeleben
to revive
Questions & Answers about Du musst mich wiederbeleben!
Why is wiederbeleben written as one word at the end, instead of being separated?
Because of the modal verb musst. Modal verbs push the main verb to the very end of the sentence in its full infinitive form. Even though wiederbeleben (to revive) is a separable verb, its prefix stays attached when it's in the infinitive.
If I wanted to say 'I am reviving him' using the colloquial am-Progressive from this lesson, how would I include the object?
Adding objects to the am-Progressive can be tricky and heavily regional! While you can easily say Ich bin am Wiederbeleben (I am reviving), adding the object usually sounds like Ich bin ihn am Wiederbeleben in spoken dialects. In standard German, it's safer to avoid this and say Ich bin dabei, ihn wiederzubeleben.
Is the prefix wieder- always separable?
Almost always, yes. When it means 'again' and carries the stress (like in wiederbeleben or wiedersehen), it is separable. The most famous exception you already know is wiederholen (to repeat), which is inseparable because the stress falls on the root verb instead of the prefix.
How do I know whether to spell it with wieder- or wider-?
They are pronounced exactly the same, but the spelling changes the meaning. wieder (with the 'e') means 'again', which makes sense for bringing someone back to life here. wider (without the 'e') means 'against', as seen in verbs like widersprechen (to contradict).
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