Note that mitusually refers to a person, while überto a topic, plan, idea
etc. Another verb that often appears with more than one preposition is
sich bewerben:Er bewirbt sich beiFerrari umeinen Job als Automechaniker.
He applies to Ferrari for a job as a car mechanic.Prepositions can affect meaning
There are also a few verbs that change their meaning, depending on the
preposition they take, such as sich freuen +auf/über:Sie freut sich aufihren Geburtstag.
She is looking forwardto her birthday.Sie freut sich überihre Geschenke.
She is pleased about her presents.Another example is the verb bestehen:bestehen auf‘insist on’, bestehen
aus‘consist of ’.Forming questions
Yes/no-questions
Yes/no-questions are formed by putting the verb at the beginning:Glaubst du an Gott?
Do you believe in God?Interessieren Sie sich für Sport?
Are you interested in sport?With question words
More open-ended questions which contain a verb+prepositionexpres-
sion are constructed in two different ways:- When referring to things, ideas or concepts, questions are formed by
usingwo(r)+the relevant preposition:
denken an → Woran denkst du?
What are you thinking of?
70 Unit 9: Verbs and prepositions