Before you start
Meet anfallen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 4 meanings
- (transitive, auxiliary haben) to set upon, to attack suddenly (especially of animals or persons compared to animals)
- (figurative) to assail, overwhelm
- (figurative, formal) to befall, grip, overwhelm suddenly (of moods, feelings)
- (intransitive, auxiliary sein) to arise, be incurred, to accumulate
Build the meaning
an- + fallen
- an-
- toward or onto, suggesting contact
- fallen
- to fall
What falls onto someone or something can come to be added to it; figuratively, costs or tasks accrue, or someone falls upon another to attack.
So anfallen means to arise or accrue; to attack.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: an·fallen
In a main clause the prefix an 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 Hund fällt den Dieb an.The dog attacks the thief.
Subordinate clauseSie läuft weg, weil der Hund sie anfällt.She runs away because the dog attacks her.
Participle: angefallenzu-infinitive: anzufallen
Forms
How anfallen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | falle an | fiel an |
| du | fällst an | fielst an |
| er/sie/es | fällt an | fiel an |
| wir | fallen an | fielen an |
| ihr | fallt an | fielt an |
| Sie | fallen an | fielen an |
Partizip II angefallen · Perfekt with sein
Three examples
- 1Der Hund fällt den Mann an.The dog attacks the man.prefix goes to the end
- 2Viele Kosten sind angefallen.A lot of costs have come up.Perfekt with sein
- 3Wenn Arbeit anfällt, helfe ich.If work comes up, I help.verb at the end after wenn
Verb family
More verbs built on fallen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.