Verstoßen

Verstoßen is a German verb with several related meanings. In its most common sense it means to violate or breach a rule, law, or norm. It can also mean to expel or ostracize someone from a group or community; in older or more formal usage it can mean to reject or cast out.

Etymology and sense development: The verb is formed from the prefix ver- attached to the verb stoßen (to push). The prefix ver- often conveys a sense of crossing a boundary, deviation, or resulting state, which underpins the transitive meanings “to violate” and “to expel.”

Usage and grammar: Verstoßen is a strong verb with a separable prefix. In the present tense the prefix separates in finite forms, as in: er verstößt gegen das Gesetz (he violates the law). The past participle is verstoßen, used with haben to form the perfect: er hat gegen das Gesetz verstoßen. The simple past (Präteritum) forms include verstieß (he violated the law). It takes the accusative with gegen when referring to violating a law or rule (e.g., gegen das Gesetz).

The verb also appears in a social or institutional sense: jemand aus einer Gemeinschaft verstoßen (to expel or ostracize someone from a community). A related noun is Verstoß, meaning a violation or transgression: Verstoß gegen das Gesetz (violation of the law).

Common collocations include gegen das Gesetz verstoßen, gegen die Regeln verstoßen, und jemanden aus einer Gemeinschaft verstoßen. See also Verstoß (Noun).

See also: Verstoß, Verstoß gegen das Gesetz.