Before you start
Meet darstellen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 4 meanings
- to depict; represent
- to personate
- to pose
- to show
Build the meaning
dar- + stellen
- dar-
- there, into view
- stellen
- to place
You place an image or idea there before someone so it can be seen or understood.
So darstellen means to depict, portray, or represent.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: dar·stellen
In a main clause the prefix dar 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 Künstler stellt die Stadt dar.The artist depicts the city.
Subordinate clauseIch bleibe, weil das Bild die Stadt darstellt.I’m staying because the picture depicts the city.
Participle: dargestelltzu-infinitive: darzustellen
Forms
How darstellen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | stelle dar | stellte dar |
| du | stellst dar | stelltest dar |
| er/sie/es | stellt dar | stellte dar |
| wir | stellen dar | stellten dar |
| ihr | stellt dar | stelltet dar |
| Sie | stellen dar | stellten dar |
Partizip II dargestellt · Perfekt with haben
Three examples
- 1Das Bild stellt einen Mann dar.The picture depicts a man.prefix goes to the end
- 2Sie hat ihre Idee klar dargestellt.She presented her idea clearly.Perfekt with haben
- 3Ich weiß, wie der Film das Leben darstellt.I know how the film portrays life.verb at the end
Verb family
More verbs built on stellen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.
- vorstellento introduce, imagine
- feststellento establish, detect
- einstellento adjust, employ, stop
- herstellento produce
- aufstellento put up, draw up
- anstellento employ, line up, get into mischief
- herausstellento emphasize, come to light
- abstellento turn off, shut down, park