Before you start
Meet ablenken
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 2 meanings
- (transitive) to divert
- (transitive) to distract
Build the meaning
ab- + lenken
- ab-
- away from a direction or focus
- lenken
- to steer or direct
To steer someone’s attention away from what it was focused on.
So ablenken means to distract; to divert.
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·lenken
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 Lärm lenkt mich ab.The noise distracts me.
Subordinate clauseIch gehe, weil mich der Lärm ablenkt.I’m leaving because the noise is distracting me.
Participle: abgelenktzu-infinitive: abzulenken
Forms
How ablenken changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | lenke ab | lenkte ab |
| du | lenkst ab | lenktest ab |
| er/sie/es | lenkt ab | lenkte ab |
| wir | lenken ab | lenkten ab |
| ihr | lenkt ab | lenktet ab |
| Sie | lenken ab | lenkten ab |
Partizip II abgelenkt · Perfekt with haben
Three examples
- 1Der Lärm lenkt mich ab.The noise distracts me.prefix goes to the end
- 2Das Handy hat mich beim Lernen abgelenkt.The phone distracted me while I was studying.Perfekt with haben
- 3Sie lenkt das Gespräch auf ein anderes Thema, wenn es still wird.She changes the subject when it gets quiet.verb at the end after wenn