How 'be-' turns German verbs into direct-object verbs
Many German verbs have a partner with the inseparable prefix be-. The meaning stays close, but the sentence changes shape. The plain verb often needs a preposition or a dative, while the be- verb takes a direct object in the accusative: auf eine Frage antworten becomes eine Frage beantworten, über ein Problem sprechen becomes ein Problem besprechen, and auf einen Berg steigen becomes einen Berg besteigen.
English speakers trip over this because English usually has only one verb for both patterns. You answer a question, and you climb a mountain. So learners mix the two German patterns and produce hybrids like auf die Frage beantworten or dem Rat befolgen. The fix is simple: once a verb has be-, the preposition disappears and the thing becomes a plain accusative object.
Compare the two patterns side by side:
- antworten auf + accusative, beantworten + accusative
- sprechen über, besprechen + accusative
- folgen + dative, befolgen + accusative
- drohen + dative, bedrohen + accusative
- zweifeln an + dative, bezweifeln + accusative
A second group works with surfaces. The plain verb takes the substance as its object and adds the surface with a preposition: Butter auf das Brot streichen. The be- verb makes the surface the object and adds the substance with mit: das Brot mit Butter bestreichen. The object switches places.
Rule of thumb: with be-, the person, thing or surface that is affected becomes the direct object, and you lose the preposition (or the dative).
antworten auf gives beantworten, sprechen über gives besprechen, and steigen auf gives besteigen. The same goes for treten in and betreten, folgen (dative) and befolgen, zweifeln an and bezweifeln, and drohen (dative) and bedrohen. Advertising works too: für ein Produkt werben becomes ein Produkt bewerben.
Other verbs in this group are arbeiten an and bearbeiten (to edit), and besiegen (to defeat), which replaces the rarer siegen über.
um jemanden trauern becomes jemanden betrauern. In the same way, um jemanden weinen gives beweinen, and beklagen also takes the lost person or the loss as a direct object. These verbs sound rather formal.
streichen and bestreichen, sprühen and besprühen, malen and bemalen, gießen (to pour) and begießen (to water), tanken and betanken. With the plain verb, the substance or the picture is the object: Benzin tanken, ein Bild an die Wand malen. With be-, the car, the wall or the plant is the object.
The typical mistake is keeping the preposition or the dative after the be- verb. Say Ich beantworte die Frage, not auf die Frage beantworten. Say den Raum betreten, not in den Raum betreten. Say den Rat befolgen, not dem Rat befolgen.
This is not a rule you can apply to every verb. Some base verbs already take a direct object. You can say die Blumen gießen just as well as die Blumen begießen. In everyday speech, ich muss noch tanken is far more common than betanken, which sounds technical. Learn the pairs one at a time.
Watch out for bewerben: it means to advertise with an accusative object, but sich um eine Stelle bewerben means to apply for a job. Finally, malen usually means creating a picture, while bemalen means covering an object with paint or decoration.
When a German verb gets the prefix be-, the affected person, thing or surface usually becomes a plain accusative object, and the preposition or dative disappears: auf eine Frage antworten but eine Frage beantworten, Butter aufs Brot streichen but das Brot mit Butter bestreichen. Never combine the two patterns.