6 minutes reading time (1142 words)

New German Lesson: Grammar: Hin/Her Prefixes with Prepositions

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We're excited to announce that Nina Freebird of Vocal Creations Berlin has just published "Grammar: Hin/Her Prefixes with Prepositions", a new Beginner level German language lesson, on Language Mentor! 

Lesson Script

Hin und Her Präfixe mit Präpositionen
Hin and Her Prefixes with Prepositions

The Prefixes "Hin" and "Her" with Prepositions
In this lesson we will introduce the prefixes "hin" and "her" combined with prepositions such as "auf", "unter", "über", "in", and "aus". Once combined they create an adverb which indicates the direction in which someone or something is moving. All adverbs with the prefix "hin" indicate movement away from something or someone. All adverbs with the prefix "her" indicate movement toward something or someone. To further complicate matters, the spoken form of these sentences usually differs from the written form. For example "hinaus" and "heraus" both become "raus". We will teach you both written and spoken forms in this lesson.

The Prefix "Her" with Prepositions
First we'll practice using "her" to indicate movement towards someone or something.

I wait for him at the bottom of the ladder.
Ich warte unten an der Leiter auf ihn.

He jumps down from the ladder. (written form)
Er springt von der Leiter herunter.

He jumps down from the ladder. (spoken form)
Er springt von der Leiter runter.

We wave at her from the shore.
Wir winken ihr vom Ufer zu.

She swims over to us. ( written )
Sie schwimmt zu uns herüber.

She swims over to us. ( spoken )
Sie schwimmt zu uns rüber.

I sit under the picture on the sofa.
Ich sitze unter dem Bild auf dem Sofa.

The picture falls down. ( written )
Das Bild fällt herunter.

The picture falls down. ( spoken )
Das Bild fällt runter.

I call them by name.
Ich rufe ihre Namen.

They turn around towards me. ( written )
Sie drehen sich zu mir herum.

They turn around towards me. ( spoken )
Sie drehen sich zu mir rum.

I sit in a bar.
Ich sitze in einer Bar.

A man comes in through the door. ( written )
Ein Mann kommt zur Tür herein.

A man comes in through the door. (spoken )
Ein Mann kommt zur Tür rein.

The Prefix "Hin" with Prepositions
Now let's practice using "hin" to indicate movement away from someone or something.

I stand at the bottom of the mountain.
Ich stehe unten am Berg.

They drive up the mountain. ( written form )
Sie fahren den Berg hinauf.

They drive up the mountain. ( spoken form )
Sie fahren den Berg rauf.

We say our good-byes.
Wir verabschieden uns.

You guys run over to them. ( written form )
Ihr lauft zu ihnen hinüber.

You guys run over to them. ( spoken form )
Ihr lauft zu ihnen rüber.

We stand in the parking lot in front of the forest.
Wir stehen auf dem Parkplatz vor dem Wald.

We walk into the forest. ( written )
Wir gehen in den Wald hinein.

We walk into the forest. ( spoken )
Wir gehen in den Wald rein.

I stand at the top of the stairs.
Ich stehe oben an der Treppe.

You walk down the stairs. ( written )
Du gehst die Treppe hinunter.

You walk down the stairs. ( spoken )
Du gehst die Treppe runter.

I stand next to the bird in the meadow.
Ich stehe neben dem Vogel auf der Wiese.

The bird flies up onto the tree. ( written )
Der Vogel fliegt auf den Baum hinauf.

The bird flies up onto the tree. ( spoken )
Der Vogel fliegt auf den Baum rauf.

Prefixes "Hin" and "Her"
Now let's practice "hin" and "her" together.

I wait for them both in front of the tree house.
Ich warte auf die beiden vor dem Baumhaus.

They climb out of the tree house. ( written )
Sie klettern aus dem Baumhaus heraus.

They climb out of the tree house. ( spoken )
Sie klettern aus dem Baumhaus raus.

I stand on the hill.
Ich stehe auf dem Hügel.

The ball rolls down the hill. ( written )
Der Ball rollt den Hügel hinunter.

The ball rolls down the hill. ( spoken )
Der Ball rollt den Hügel runter.

We wave at them from the store.
Wir winken ihnen vom Laden zu.

They come over to us. ( written )
Sie kommen zu uns herüber.

They come over to us. ( spoken )
Sie kommen zu uns rüber.

I stand with him at the train station.
Ich stehe mit ihm am Bahnhof.

He goes over from me to you. ( written )
Er geht zu dir hinüber.

He goes over from me to you. ( spoken )
Er geht zu dir rüber.

I start a fire in the house.
Ich mache Feuer im Haus.

They go out into the cold. ( written)
Sie gehen in die Kälte hinaus.

They go out into the cold. ( spoken )
Sie gehen in die Kälte raus.

I stand in front of my house.
Ich stehe vor meinem Haus.

I walk down the path to the beach. ( written )
Ich laufe den Weg hinunter zum Strand.

I walk down the path to the beach. ( spoken )
Ich laufe den Weg runter zum Strand.

I call the child.
Ich rufe das Kind.

The child rides over to me. ( written )
Das Kind fährt zu mir herüber.

The child rides over to me. ( spoken )
Das Kind fährt zu mir rüber.

I open the car door.
Ich öffne die Autotür.

The bags fall out of the car. ( written )
Die Taschen fallen aus dem Auto heraus.

The bags fall out of the car. ( spoken )
Die Taschen fallen aus dem Auto raus.

I park the car in front of the house.
Ich parke das Auto vor dem Haus.

They run into the house. ( written )
Sie rennen in das Haus hinein.

They run into the house. ( spoken )
Sie rennen in das Haus rein.

I lay at the beach.
Ich liege am Strand.

The sun shines down on me. ( written and spoken )
Die Sonne scheint auf mich herab.

I lay on the meadow.
Ich liege auf der Wiese.

It rains down on me. ( written and spoken )

Es regnet auf mich herab. 


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Creative Commons License

This article and the lesson that it presents are both licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.
New German Lesson: Modal Verbs - Grammar
New German Lesson: Grammar: Hin/Her Prefixes with ...
 

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Friday, 29 March 2024
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