Before you start
Meet abholen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 3 meanings
- to collect, to pick up (e.g. a person or package waiting at a location, with oneself having arrived form elsewhere)
- (politics) to engage with, to relate to (one's constituents; especially in not ignoring their everyday problems)
- (business) to resonate (with), to connect well (with customers)
Build the meaning
ab- + holen
- ab-
- away from a starting point, toward the person waiting
- holen
- to fetch, to get
You fetch something and bring it away from where it was to the person waiting.
So abholen means to pick up, to collect, to fetch.
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·holen
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 clauseSie holt ihre Tochter um vier ab.She picks up her daughter at four.
Subordinate clauseIch bin froh, dass du mich abholst.I’m glad that you’re picking me up.
Participle: abgeholtzu-infinitive: abzuholen
Forms
How abholen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hole ab | holte ab |
| du | holst ab | holtest ab |
| er/sie/es | holt ab | holte ab |
| wir | holen ab | holten ab |
| ihr | holt ab | holtet ab |
| Sie | holen ab | holten ab |
Partizip II abgeholt · Perfekt with haben
Three examples
- 1Ich hole meine Schwester vom Bahnhof ab.I’m picking up my sister from the train station.prefix goes to the end
- 2Wir haben das Paket gestern abgeholt.We picked up the package yesterday.Perfekt with haben
- 3..., weil mein Vater mich heute abholt.... because my father is picking me up today.verb at the end after weil
Verb family
More verbs built on holen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.