Editing Prefix (section)

==German==
In German, [[Morphological derivation|derivatives]] formed with prefixes may be classified in two categories: those used with substantives and adjectives, and those used with verbs.<ref name="Chambers1970p63">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o9sNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA63 |title=a short history of the german language |publisher=Taylor & Francis |language=en}}</ref> For derivative substantives and adjectives, only two [[Productivity (linguistics)|productive]] prefixes are generally addable to any substantive or adjective as of 1970: ''un-'', which expresses negation (as in ''ungesund'', from ''gesund''), and ''ur-'', which means "original, primitive" in substantives, and has an emphatic function in adjectives. ''ge-'', on the other hand, expresses union or togetherness, but only in a closed group of words—it cannot simply be added to any noun or adjective.<ref name="CfChambers1970p63">Cf. Chambers, W. Walker and Wilkie, John R. (1970) ''A Short History of the German Language'', London: Methuen & Company, Ltd., [https://books.google.com/books?id=o9sNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA63 p. 63]</ref>

Verbal prefixes commonly in use are ''be-'', ''ent-'', ''er-'', ''ge-'', ''miss-'', ''ver-'', and ''zer-'' (see also [[Separable verb]]).<ref name="CfChambers1970p63"/> ''be-'' expresses strengthening or generalization. ''ent-'' expresses negation. ''ge-'' indicates the completion of an action, which is why its most common use has become the forming of the [[past participle]] of verbs; ''ver-'' has an emphatic function, or it is used to turn a substantive or an adjective into a verb.<ref name="Chambers1970p63"/> In some cases, the prefix particle ''ent-'' (negation) can be considered the opposite of particle ''be-'', while ''er-'' can be considered the opposite of ''ver-''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boileau |first=Daniel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HA0JAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA197 |title=The Nature and Genius of the German Language: Displayed in a More Extended Review of Its Grammatical Forms Than is to be Found in Any Grammar Extant, and Elucidated by Quotations from the Best Writers |date=1820 |publisher=T. Boosey and sons |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Maylor2002p12">{{Cite book |last=Maylor |first=B. Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eDgdTBywNkC&pg=PA12 |title=Lexical Template Morphology: Change of State and the Verbal Prefixes in German |date=2002-01-01 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=978-90-272-3061-4 |language=en}}</ref>

The prefix ''er-'' usually indicates the successful completion of an action, and sometimes the conclusion means death.<ref name="Schmidt1974p86">{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Karl A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIXQj-N-8TAC&pg=PA86 |title=Easy Ways to Enlarge Your German Vocabulary |date=1974-01-01 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-23044-3 |language=en}}</ref> With fewer verbs, it indicates the beginning of an action.<ref name="Chambers1970p63"/><ref name="Schmidt1974p86"/> The prefix ''er-'' is also used to form verbs from adjectives (e.g. ''erkalten'' is equivalent to ''kalt werden'' which means "to get cold").<ref name="Schmidt1974p86"/>