zugreift

Zugreift is not a standard lexical item in German. In ordinary usage the present tense of the separable verb zugreifen is written as two words: er greift zu, du greifst zu, sie greift zu. The single-word form zugreift is not commonly accepted in standard German and is typically considered nonstandard or a typographical simplification. The correct past participle is zugegriffen, as in er hat auf die Daten zugegriffen.

Meaning and usage. Zugreifen (and its forms) means to grasp or to take hold of something, either literally (to grab an object) or figuratively (to take advantage of an opportunity). It also covers the sense of accessing something, especially in technical contexts, as in auf Daten zugreifen (to access data). In this sense, zugreifen operates as a separable verb: the prefix zu- is separated from greifen in the finite verb form and placed at the end of the clause.

Grammar. Zugreifen is a two-part verb with a prefix that splits in the present tense: ich greife zu, du greifst zu, er greift zu, wir greifen zu, ihr greift zu, sie greifen zu. Its past forms use the participle zugegriffen and auxiliary haben. The noun form related to the concept is der Zugriff or der Zugriff auf etwas, meaning access.

Semantic range. Literally, zugreifen covers grabbing physical objects and obtaining things. Figuratively, it can imply decisive action, such as “zu einem Mittel greifen” (to resort to a means) or “zum richtigen Zeitpunkt zugreifen” (to seize the moment). In computing, it commonly appears as auf Daten zugreifen or beim Systemzugriff, always two words.

See also. zugreifen, Zugriff, zugegriffen, Zugriff auf Daten.