Er
drückt
sich gewählt
aus. = He expresses himself very nicely.
All verbs that start with
ver- are of the type that
change the meaning totally.
raten - verraten
Rate
mal! = Guess!
Er
verriet
ihn. = He betrayed him.
sagen - versagen
Ich
sage
es dir. = I tell you.
Ich
versage
es mir.= I don't permit myself.
Er
hat versagt.
= He failed.
Stehen - verstehen
Ich
stehe.
= I stand.
Ich
verstehe.
= I understand.
You see sometimes the English translation of the verb
with preposition is very different to the verb without
the preposition. Sometimes the translations are quite
close (to stand = to understand). But since there is not
really a rule the only way to get through this jungle
is to learn the verbs by heart (one by one).
Quite often the German version of specifying events is
with a verb with preposition whereas the English would
describe the facts rather with an adjective or an adverb.
