beauftragen
When you want to say that you give someone a job or ask them to do something, you use "beauftragen." Think of it like assigning a task to someone.
For example, a boss might "beauftragen" an employee to write a report. Or you might "beauftragen" a company to fix your car.
It's a useful verb to know when talking about tasks and responsibilities.
When you beauftragen someone, you are giving them an official task or order to complete something on your behalf. Think of it like hiring a contractor for a specific job or authorizing an employee to undertake a project.
It implies a formal assignment of responsibility, often with an expectation of a professional outcome. You are not just asking them to do something; you are formally entrusting them with a task.
Grammar to Know
German separable prefixes like 'be-' are not separated from the verb in 'beauftragen' as 'be-' is an inseparable prefix. This means that the 'be-' part of the verb always stays attached to the main verb, unlike separable prefixes which move to the end of the sentence in certain constructions.
Ich beauftrage dich. (I commission you.)
When 'beauftragen' is used in a perfect tense (e.g., Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt), it forms its past participle with 'ge-' as 'beauftragt'. The auxiliary verb used is 'haben'.
Ich habe dich beauftragt. (I have commissioned you.)
'Beauftragen' is a transitive verb, meaning it typically takes a direct object in the accusative case. This direct object is the person or thing being commissioned or assigned.
Der Chef beauftragte den Mitarbeiter. (The boss commissioned the employee.)
When specifying the task or purpose for which someone is commissioned, you can use prepositions like 'mit' (with) followed by the dative case, or 'zu' (to/for) followed by the dative case.
Er beauftragte mich mit der Arbeit. (He commissioned me with the work.) / Sie beauftragten ihn zu einer Studie. (They commissioned him for a study.)
In passive voice constructions, 'beauftragen' uses the auxiliary verb 'werden' and the past participle 'beauftragt'.
Der Mitarbeiter wurde beauftragt. (The employee was commissioned.)
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