52.5 The umlaut (see 1.5) is sometimes involved in the process of word formation in
German, but it is not always possible to predict when it will be present.
The most important patterns are listed below.53 Forming verbs
53.1 Without a prefix
All the verbs in this section are weak (see 33.4).(a) -ieren can form verbs from nouns:die Analyse ‘analysis’ > analysieren ‘to analyse’
die Kontrolle ‘check/control’ > kontrollieren ‘to check/control’
das Telefon ‘telephone’ > telefonieren ‘to speak on the phone’(b) -en can be added to a noun to form a verb, sometimes following a pattern which
begins with an adjective:warm ‘warm’ > die Wärme ‘warmth’ > wärmen ‘to warm’
stark ‘strong’ > die Stärke ‘strength’ > stärken ‘to strengthen’
die Farbe ‘colour’ > färben ‘to colour’(c) Many verbs recently imported from English add -en to the English word:boxen ‘to box’, checken ‘to check/make sure’ See^36 (pp. 81–7) on separable and inseparable prefixes, and see^57 (pp. 142–5) on the
meaning of verbal prefixes.54 Forming nouns
See also 58.1 (p. 146) on formal nominal style.
54.1 Using prefixes
Common prefixes include:Fehl- ‘false/wrong/mistaken’der Fehlstart ‘false start’, die Fehleinschätzung ‘mistaken estimate’,
die Fehlprognose ‘false prognosis’Grund- ‘basic/essential’die Grundregel ‘basic (ground) rule’, das Grundprinzip ‘basic
principle’, die Grundhaltung ‘basic attitude’, die Grundschule
‘primary (elementary) school’Haupt- ‘main’das Hauptargument ‘main argument’, die Hauptsache ‘main thing’,
das Hauptfach ‘main subject of study’54
Forming nouns