Verbrenne

Verbrenne is a form of the German verb verbrennen (to burn). It appears as the first-person singular present indicative: ich verbrenne (I burn), and as the second-person singular imperative: Verbrenne! (Burn!). The verb belongs to the group of verbs with the prefix ver- attached to brennen, which generally adds a sense of completion or thorough burning.

Etymology and sense

Verbrennen is built from brennen (to burn) with the prefix ver-. The combination typically expresses burning something up, destroying it by fire, rather than a simple ongoing burning. The base verb brennen is related to other Germanic terms for burning, and verbrennen covers both literal burning of objects and figurative uses such as burning money or time in common speech. Reflexive forms exist: sich verbrennen means to burn oneself, as in sich die Finger verbrennen.

Usage

Most uses are transitive: Ich verbrenne das Papier. I burn the paper. The reflexive form is also common: Ich verbrenne mir die Hand (I burn my hand). In standard, imperfect contexts you may see: Ich verbrannte das Holz (I burned the wood). The participle form is verbrannt, as in Das Holz ist verbrannt. The past participle is used with haben in perfect constructions: Ich habe das Papier verbrannt.

Conjugation highlights (present tense)

ich verbrenne, du verbrennst, er verbrennt, wir verbrennen, ihr verbrennt, sie verbrennen. Other basic forms include Infinitiv: verbrennen; Partizip I: verbrennend; Partizip II: verbrannt.