Meine Großmutter sieht nicht sehr alt aus.

Question 1: Using Separable Verbs in Present Tense Sentences 1

A common verb for describing appearance is aussehen, which means "to look or appear". When constructing a present-tense sentence with a separable verb like this, the second part of the verb (sehen) is conjugated, while the first part (aus) is moved to the end of the phrase or sentence. For example, "Meine Schwester sieht krank aus" means "My sister looks ill".

Place the words provided in the following sentences in the correct order.

a siehst • müde • aus • Du -->  . - You look tired.

b Lehrerin • Die • sieht • aus --> neue freundlich . - The new teacher looks friendly.

c Freunde • aus • cool • sehen --> Meine . - My friends look cool.

d aus • sieht • glücklich • Meine --> Großmutter . - My grandmother looks happy.

aus/schlafen: Am Samstagmorgen schlafe ich immer aus. - I always sleep in on Saturdays.

Question 2: Using Separable Verbs in Present Tense Sentences 2

Describing your actions can help you to explain details about your character. The examples below illustrate how you can use separable verbs to describe your actions.

For example, "Ich bin ziemlich extrovertiert. Ich gehe gern mit Freunden aus." - I am quite extroverted. I like going out with friends.

Can you fill in the missing parts in each sentence below? Use the separable verb provided and don't forget to conjugate it.

a fern/sehen: Ich gern , denn ich liebe Filme und Serien. - I like watching TV, because I love films and series.

b ab/holen: Mein Vater ist ganz lieb. Er mich immer vom Bahnhof . - My father is very kind. He always picks me up from the railway station.

c auf/stehen: Am Wochenende bin ich ziemlich faul. Ich sehr spät . - At the weekend I'm quite lazy. I get up very late.

Question 3: Using Separable Verbs with a Modal Verb

When used with modal verbs such as können, möchten and müssen, the separable verb remains in one piece. Here is an example:

• Ich gehe auf eine Party. Ich möchte cool aussehen. - I'm going to a party. I'd like to look cool.

Note: When a separable verb is used in the infinitive form as a single word, the first part of it is emphasised:
• ausschlafen - to sleep in - 
• abholen - to pick up (e.g. from the airport) - 

The modal verb is conjugated and placed in the second position in the sentence. The separable verb is written or spoken whole and placed at the end of the phrase or sentence.

Can you fill the blanks in the sentences below? Don't forget to conjugate the modal verbs.

a müssen • aufstehen --> Ich früh . - I must get up early.

b ausschlafen • möchten --> Ich morgen . - I'd like to sleep in tomorrow.

c können • abholen --> Er mich vom Flughafen . - He can pick me up from the airport. 

To talk about the past with a separable verb, you choose and conjugate the right auxiliary verb (haben or sein), then add the past participle, in which the -ge- is placed between the two parts of the verb.

For example, the past participle of aufstehen is aufgestanden. Since this verb involves a significant movement, the correct auxiliary is sein. So to say "I got up early yesterday", you could use this sentence: Ich bin gestern früh aufgestanden.

Can you fill in the required words in the sentences below? Don't forget to conjugate the auxiliary verb:

a aux: haben • past participle: ausgesehen --> Sie hübsch . - She looked pretty.

b aux: sein • past participle: ausgegangen --> Wir  mit Freunden . - We went out with friends.

c aux: haben • past participle: aufgeräumt --> Meine Tochter ihr Zimmer . - My daughter cleaned up her room.