Before you start
Meet abhängen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 5 meanings
- (intransitive) to depend (as a necessary condition) [with von (+ dative) ‘on something’]
- (intransitive, informal) to hang out
- (transitive) to take down
- (transitive, construction) to suspend (e.g., a ceiling)
- (transitive, colloquial) to outpace, to shake off, to leave behind
Build the meaning
ab- + hängen
- ab-
- away or down from something
- hängen
- to hang
Imagine one thing hanging from another: what happens to it depends on what it hangs from.
So abhängen means to depend on.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: ab·hängen
In a main clause the prefix ab splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
Main clauseDer Erfolg hängt von uns ab.Success depends on us.
Subordinate clauseSie bleibt zu Hause, weil ihr Besuch vom Wetter abhängt.She is staying at home because her visit depends on the weather.
Participle: abgehangenzu-infinitive: abzuhängen
Forms
How abhängen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hänge ab | hing ab |
| du | hängst ab | hingst ab |
| er/sie/es | hängt ab | hing ab |
| wir | hängen ab | hingen ab |
| ihr | hängt ab | hingt ab |
| Sie | hängen ab | hingen ab |
Partizip II abgehangen · Perfekt with haben
Three examples
- 1Der Preis hängt vom Wetter ab.The price depends on the weather.prefix goes to the end
- 2Unser Ausflug hat vom Wetter abgehangen.Our trip depended on the weather.Perfekt with haben
- 3Ich weiß nicht, wovon der Preis abhängt.I don’t know what the price depends on.verb at the end
Verb family
More verbs built on hängen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.