Aufführen

Aufführen is a German verb formed from the prefix auf- and the verb führen. It conveys the notion of bringing something before an audience or presenting something in a formal way. The most common sense is to stage or perform a work, such as a theatre piece, concert, ballet, or other artistic production.

Beyond theatrical contexts, aufführen can also mean to present or list information. For example, a report may aufführen several reasons or items, i.e., enumerate or cite them. In this sense, aufführen is closely related to the idea of bringing forth something in a structured form, as opposed to simply performing it. The noun derived from the verb is die Aufführung, meaning a performance or staging.

Usage and grammar: aufführen is a separable-prefix verb. In the present tense, it is conjugated as ich führe auf, du führst auf, er führt auf, etc., with the prefix separated in main clauses (Ich führe das Stück heute Abend auf). The past tense forms include führte auf and hat aufgeführt, the latter being the past participle used with haben in perfect constructions. The noun Aufführung (capitalized) refers specifically to a performance or staging.

Relation to other verbs: aufführen is distinct from ausführen, which more commonly means to carry out or execute a plan or task. While aufführen emphasizes presenting something to an audience or listing items, ausführen stresses execution or implementation.