German A2.20 Listening Practice: Leave Ge Out In Two Patterns
German A2 listening practice with audio, transcript, key phrases, and a speaking challenge for leave ge out in two patterns.
Podcast listening is in beta while creation and discussion tools are refined. This published chapter includes its complete segmented audio and transcript.
Level
A2.20
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
16 segments
What to notice while you listen
What you'll understand
Report selected completed actions whose participles do not contain ge-.
Use besucht, verstanden, and telefoniert without inserting ge-, while retaining the known haben bracket.
New pattern
no ge- in selected participles with the inseparable prefixes be- and ver- or with -ieren verbs
Practice aloud after listening
Ich habe meine Freundin besucht und danach telefoniert.
I visited my friend and telephoned afterward.
A short German listening chapter with transcript.
Notice two bounded participle patterns that close the perfect bracket without ge-.
Read while you listen.
1. Hanna · Teacher
Welcome to today's lesson! Today we'll discover why some German past participles do not take 'ge-'. Let's listen to a conversation between Felix and Clara.
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2. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ich habe gestern meine Freundin besucht.
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3. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Habt ihr zusammen den schwierigen Text verstanden?
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4. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ja, ich habe sie besucht und wir haben den Text gut verstanden.
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5. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Das ist super, und was hast du am Abend gemacht?
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6. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ich habe meine Freundin besucht und danach telefoniert.
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7. Hanna · Teacher
Let's look at the first sentence: Felix said, 'Ich habe gestern meine Freundin besucht,' meaning 'I visited my girlfriend yesterday.' The verb 'besuchen' has an inseparable prefix 'be-', so its past participle is 'besucht' without 'ge-'.
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8. Lukas · Student
So any verb with an inseparable prefix like 'be-' drops the 'ge-' in the past tense?
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9. Hanna · Teacher
That's right! Also notice 'die Freundin' for a female friend or girlfriend, which becomes 'die Freundinnen' in the plural.
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10. Hanna · Teacher
In the third sentence, Felix says: 'Wir haben den Text gut verstanden,' meaning 'We understood the text well.' The verb 'verstehen' becomes 'verstanden' because 'ver-' is another inseparable prefix.
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11. Lukas · Student
Does 'verstehen' also take an accusative object like 'den Text'?
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12. Hanna · Teacher
Yes, both 'besuchen' and 'verstehen' take direct accusative objects, like 'sie' or 'den Text'.
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13. Hanna · Teacher
Finally, in the last sentence Felix says: 'Ich habe meine Freundin besucht und danach telefoniert.' Here we see 'telefoniert' from 'telefonieren'.
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14. Lukas · Student
Why does 'telefoniert' leave out 'ge-' as well?
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15. Hanna · Teacher
Verbs ending in '-ieren' never add 'ge-' in the participle form. So 'Ich habe telefoniert' simply uses 'telefoniert'.
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16. Hanna · Teacher
You've done a wonderful job today! Remember these two patterns and keep practicing your German.
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