10.12 Compound verbs-2

Other types of compound verbs

German compound verbs are not only formed by adding prefixes, but also by adding other parts of speech. As the following four examples show, it is also possible to add nouns and other verbs to form a compound verb:

Notes

Although these compound verbs are written as two words, they behave in the same way as verbs with a separable prefix. This means that it is only the second element which declines - even if the first element is another verb as with einkaufen gehen and spazieren gehen. It also means that, like a separable prefix, the first element is positioned at the end of a German clause. For example:

 

Thomas fährt gern Rad.

(Thomas likes cycling.)

Läufst du gern Ski?

(Do you like skiing?)

Heute Nachmittag gehe ich einkaufen.

(I'm going shopping this afternoon.)

Wir gehen jeden Abend spazieren.

(We go for a walk every evening.)