Brief Deutsch geekery

[feuervogel]

I'm watching Bundesliga matches on streaming internet video sites. Even if I find a feed in English, I won't watch it, because it feels wrong to watch in a language other than German. Listening to the commentary reminds me of one of my favorite things about German.

You can take the prefix ver- and put it in front of a verb and make it connote that they fucked up.

schießen (to shoot); verschießen (to miss the shot)
schenken (to give as a gift); verschenken (to give away, as in an opportunity; also used in context of points on an exam: ich hab 10 Punkte verschenkt.)
spielen (to play); verspielen (to miss a play, to play badly)
laufen (to run); verlaufen (to be lost)

Note: not all verbs beginning with ver- carry this connotation. Of course, all the ones I'm thinking of ottomh aren't positive: verlieren (to lose), vergessen (to forget).

Comments

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's up there with learning the "rules" for noun genders. You have way too many exceptions to memorize for it to be worth it. Still, it's useful when trying to generate new words...

[feuervogel]

There are two rules that are consistent for noun genders: -schaft, -heit, -keit, -ung = feminine; nominalized infinitives = neuter. Everything else you just gotta memorize, including the nominalization of verbs (die Fahrt, der Lauf). It's been so long since I memorized them, you know? I'll be like "der Eule. Wait, is it die? No, I think it's der. *checks* Damn, it's die."

If you ever figure out how be- changes the verb, let me know. I thought it made it intransitive (decken/bedecken, danken/s. bedanken), but that doesn't make sense. (And bedauern bears no relation to dauern, either...)

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

I think, honestly, that the age of the prefixes and verbs matters. It's like Himbeere - the roots have shifted to the point where you can't recognize the connection unless you're told.