Prepositions in combination with verbs can specify things like position, time, possession or the way something is done. German verbs with prepositions can have fixed meanings, or a verb can take various prepositions to express different things. Because you have to remember the proper case to use after the preposition, they can prove challenging to learn. Reflexive verbs complicate things further. Don’t despair, our overview will teach you the most important German verb preposition combinations and how to best remember them.
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How do verbs with prepositions work in German?
German verbs with prepositions are easy to learn if the verb is fixed with only one preposition and case. You’ll then have to remember these two and their meaning. More often, though, various prepositions will express a difference in meaning. Regarding the case following the preposition, there are three possibilities:
- The verb has a preposition always followed by the dative case: aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu
- The verb has a preposition always followed by the accusative case: für, gegen, um
- The verb has a two-way preposition, which can take either case: an, auf, in, über, unter, vor, zwischen
Luckily, only the prepositions an, auf, in are ‘true’ two-way prepositions and can take both dative and accusative with a change in meaning. The prepositions über, unter, vor and zwischen specify a place or position and take these cases:
- über + accusative
- unter + dative
- vor + dative
- zwischen + dative
In a sentence, the preposition precedes the object or phrase to which the verb refers. It can specify a place, a person or recipient, an object, or a manner. Do you need to refresh your knowledge of German cases? Learn the difference between dative and accusative in German!
How many German prepositions are there?
German verb preposition combinations are limited to a subset of all German prepositions. They only take the dative or accusative case, not the genitive case. Some so-called two-way prepositions can take both cases, not interchangeably, but with two different meanings.
- an (dat. + acc.) – to
- auf (dat. + acc.) – on
- aus (dat.) – from
- bei (dat.) – at
- durch (acc.) – by
- für (acc.) – for
- gegen (acc.) – against
- in (dat. + acc.) – in
- mit (dat.) – with
- nach (dat.) – after
- ohne (acc.) – without
- über (acc.) – about
- um (acc.) – to
- unter (dat.) – under
- von (dat.) – from
- vor (dat.) – before
- zu (dat.) – to
- zwischen (dat.) – between
How do you know what preposition to use in German?
Unfortunately, there are no clues or rules to tell you which preposition to use with a German verb. It’s something you have to look up in a dictionary and then learn by rote memorization, similar to the case following the preposition. Pay attention to how native speakers combine German verbs with prepositions, and over time, you’ll learn how the meaning of phrases changes accordingly. We’ll also give you more tips for learning prepositions below.
For the proper cases, there are a few which can only take one case:
- Prepositions that always take the dative: bei, mit, von, nach, zu
- Prepositions that always take the accusative: ohne, für, durch, gegen
Study German prepositions in detail with our top tips on how to learn them!
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German verbs and prepositions list
The following overview will list the most important German verbs with prepositions. Here are a few examples of German verbs with prepositions as they’re used in full sentences:
- Ich schicke die E-Mail an meine Freundin. I’m sending the email to my girlfriend.
- Wir müssen auf die Lautstärke achten. We have to watch the volume.
- Er bedankt sich bei mir. He is thanking me.
As you can see, only the first example follows the straightforward order of subject, verb, object. The verb senden (to send) is taking two objects here, with the preposition before the second, specifying the recipient.
The second example demonstrates the use with an auxiliary verb: the infinite part of the verb is in last position at the end of the sentence, preceded by the preposition and object.
Lastly, in the case of a reflexive verb, the pronoun comes before the preposition and the object, which in this case uses a dative case.
| VERB + PREPOSITION | CASE | ENGLISH |
| PREPOSITION AN | ||
| ändern an | dat. | (to) change about |
| arbeiten an | dat. | (to) work on |
| denken an | acc. | (to) think of |
| glauben an | acc. | (to) believe in |
| hindern an | dat. | (to) prevent from |
| leiden an | dat. | (to) suffer from |
| schicken an | acc. | (to) send to |
| schreiben an | acc. | (to) write to |
| sterben an | acc. | (to) die of |
| teilnehmen an | dat. | (to) participate in |
| zweifeln an | dat. | (to) doubt |
| PREPOSITION AUF | ||
| achten auf | dat. | (to) watch, take care of |
| ankommen auf | acc. | (to) depend on |
| antworten auf | acc. | (to) answer to |
| aufpassen auf | acc. | (to) take care of |
| bestehen auf | acc. | (to) insist on |
| hoffen auf | acc. | (to) hope for |
| warten auf | acc. | (to) wait for |
| PREPOSITION AUS | ||
| bestehen aus | dat. | (to) consist of |
| PREPOSITION BEI | ||
| arbeiten bei | dat. | (to) work at |
| helfen bei | dat. | (to) help with |
| zuschauen / zusehen bei | dat. | (to) watch |
| zuhören bei | dat. | (to) listen to |
| PREPOSITION FÜR | ||
| ausgeben für | acc. | (to) spend for |
| danken für | acc. | (to) thank for |
| halten für | acc. | (to) take for |
| kämpfen für | acc. | (to) fight for |
| sein für | acc. | (to) be for |
| sorgen für | acc. | (to) care for |
| PREPOSITION GEGEN | ||
| kämpfen gegen | acc. | (to) fight against |
| protestieren gegen | acc. | (to) protest against |
| sein gegen | acc. | (to) be against |
| PREPOSITION MIT | ||
| anfangen mit | dat. | (to) start with |
| aufhören mit | dat. | (to) stop (with) |
| beginnen mit | dat. | (to) begin with |
| handeln mit | dat. | (to) trade with / in |
| rechnen mit | dat. | (to) count on |
| spielen mit | dat. | (to) play with |
| sprechen mit | dat. | (to) speak with |
| streiten mit | dat. | (to) argue with |
| telefonieren mit | dat. | (to) call |
| vergleichen mit | dat. | (to) compare to / with |
| PREPOSITION NACH | ||
| fragen nach | dat. | (to) ask for |
| riechen nach | dat. | (to) smell like |
| schmecken nach | dat. | (to) taste like |
| suchen nach | dat. | (to) search for |
| PREPOSITION ÜBER | ||
| diskutieren über | acc. | (to) discuss |
| erschrecken über | acc. | (to) get frightened by |
| erzählen über | acc. | (to) talk of / about |
| klagen über | acc. | (to) complain about |
| (nach)denken über | acc. | (to) think about |
| lachen über | acc. | (to) laugh about |
| reden über | acc. | (to) talk about |
| sagen über | acc. | (to) speak / say about |
| schimpfen über | acc. | (to) complain / swear about |
| sprechen über | acc. | (to) talk about |
| streiten über | acc. | (to) argue about |
| PREPOSITION UM | ||
| bitten um | acc. | (to) ask / plead for |
| gehen um | acc. | (to) revolve around |
| PREPOSITION UNTER | ||
| leiden unter | acc. | (to) suffer from |
| PREPOSITION VON | ||
| abhängen von | dat. | (to) depend on |
| erfahren von | dat. | (to) learn about |
| erzählen von | dat. | (to) tell about |
| halten von | dat. | (to) think of / regard |
| handeln von | dat. | (to) revolve around / be about |
| hören von | dat. | (to) hear of |
| leben von | dat. | (to) live off |
| reden von | dat. | (to) talk about |
| träumen von | dat. | (to) dream of |
| verstehen von | dat. | (to) be versed in / skilled in |
| wissen von | dat. | (to) know about |
| PREPOSITION VOR | ||
| fliehen vor | dat. | (to) flee from |
| warnen vor | dat. | (to) warn of |
| PREPOSITION ZU | ||
| einladen zu | dat. | (to) invite to |
| gehören zu | dat. | (to) belong to |
| gratulieren zu | dat. | (to) gratulate on |
| kommen zu | dat. | (to) come to |
| sagen zu | dat. | (to) say to |
| schicken zu | dat. | (to) send to |
| werden zu | dat. | (to) become |
German reflexive verbs with prepositions
Reflexive verbs use a reflexive pronoun to express that the subject and object of a verb in a sentence are the same, i.e. “I am cleaning myself”, ich wasche mich. Such expressions are more common in German than in English. Of course, there are German reflexive verbs with prepositions as well.
| VERB + PREPOSITION | CASE | ENGLISH |
| sich ärgern über | acc. | (to) get angry about / with |
| sich bedanken bei | dat. | (to) thank someone |
| sich bedanken für | acc. | (to) thank for |
| sich bemühen um | acc. | (to) strive for, be eager for |
| sich beschäftigen mit | dat. | (to) deal with, to concern with |
| sich beschweren bei | dat. | (to) complain to |
| sich beteiligen an | dat. | (to) take part in |
| sich bewerben bei | dat. | (to) apply at |
| sich bewerben um | acc. | (to) apply for |
| sich beziehen auf | acc. | (to) refer to |
| sich entscheiden für | acc. | (to) decide on |
| sich entschließen zu | dat, | (to) resolve to |
| sich entschuldigen für | acc. | (to) apologize for |
| sich entschuldigen bei | dat. | (to) apologize to |
| sich erholen von | dat. | (to) recover from |
| sich erinnern an | acc. | (to) recall / remember |
| sich erkundigen nach | dat. | (to) ask after |
| sich freuen auf | acc. | (to) look forward to |
| sich freuen über | acc. | (to) rejoice about |
| sich gewöhnen an | acc. | (to) get used to |
| sich handeln um | acc. | (to) be about |
| sich informieren über | acc. | (to) inform oneself about |
| sich interessieren für | acc. | (to) be interested in |
| sich konzentrieren auf | acc. | (to) concentrate on |
| sich kümmern um | acc. | (to) take care of / care for |
| sich schützen vor | dat. | (to) protect oneself from |
| sich sorgen um | acc. | (to) worry about / for |
| sich treffen mit | dat. | (to) meet with |
| sich treffen zu | dat. | (to) meet for |
| sich unterhalten mit | dat. | (to) talk with |
| sich unterhalten über | acc. | (to) talk about |
| sich verabreden mit | dat. | (to) arrange (to meet) with |
| sich verabschieden von | dat. | (to) say goodbye to |
| sich verlassen auf | acc. | (to) rely on |
| sich verstehen mit | dat. | (to) get along with |
| sich vorbereiten auf | acc. | (to) prepare oneself for |
| sich wenden an | acc. | (to) turn to |
| sich wundern über | acc. | (to) wonder about |
Need to refresh your knowledge of German conjugation? Here’s everything you need to know about modal verbs in German.
How to learn German verbs with prepositions
German verbs with prepositions can prove difficult, because, as you can see, a fixed expression with a German verb preposition combination can result in a more abstract meaning. In addition, you have to learn the prepositions and cases by heart. But here are a few tips to master German verbs with prepositions:
- Learn the list of prepositions at the same time as learning the verb, then remember the cases for each preposition.
- The best way to do so is with examples. Study sentences with German preposition verbs and pay attention to the cases.
- To make it easier, don’t study the verbs in their alphabetical order—that’s why we’ve grouped the above list by prepositions. Commit the most important verbs with one preposition to memory first, then move on to the next preposition.
- To strengthen your memory, come up with mnemonic sentences for each German verb with a preposition. They don’t have to be logical, just memorable!
Are you looking for more verb lists for learning German? Start here and learn the one hundred most common German verbs first!
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Jakob Straub
Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his website or on Goodreads.
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