vergeben
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle High German vergeben, from Old High German fargeban, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną. Analyzable as ver- + geben. Cognate with Dutch vergeven, English forgive, Icelandic fyrirgefa.
Verb
vergeben (class 5 strong, third-person singular present vergibt, past tense vergab, past participle vergeben, past subjunctive vergäbe, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive or intransitive) to forgive [with dative ‘someone’ (optional) and accusative ‘for something’]
- Synonym: verzeihen
- Kannst du mir vergeben? ― Can you forgive me?
- Vergib mir meine Sünden! ― Forgive me my sins.
- (transitive) to assign; to allocate; to give (a job); to give or set (a task); to award (a contract), to give away [with accusative ‘something’ and an (+ accusative) ‘to someone’]
- Wir haben den Auftrag an ein Drittunternehmen vergeben.
- We have awarded the contract to an external company.
Usage notes
- Vergeben implies a greater degree of moral guilt than verzeihen. It is used in the context of sin or crime, or otherwise of severe misbehaviour, such as acts of violence, insult, humiliation, deceit, and the like.
- The noun corresponding to the sense “to forgive” is Vergebung, while that corresponding to the sense “to assign” is Vergabe.
Conjugation
| infinitive | vergeben | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | vergebend | ||||
| past participle | vergeben | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich vergebe | wir vergeben | i | ich vergebe | wir vergeben |
| du vergibst | ihr vergebt | du vergebest | ihr vergebet | ||
| er vergibt | sie vergeben | er vergebe | sie vergeben | ||
| preterite | ich vergab | wir vergaben | ii | ich vergäbe1 | wir vergäben1 |
| du vergabst | ihr vergabt | du vergäbest1 du vergäbst1 |
ihr vergäbet1 ihr vergäbt1 | ||
| er vergab | sie vergaben | er vergäbe1 | sie vergäben1 | ||
| imperative | vergib (du) | vergebt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
Participle
vergeben
Adjective
vergeben (strong nominative masculine singular vergebener, not comparable)
Further reading
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