I'm pretty much a beginner in German but I have a question about separable and inseparable verbs. I have read that there are verbs where the prefixes separate, others that don't and some, like those beginning with durch that sometimes separate. The inseparable version often being less literal and more figurative in meaning. In the German pop song Glück, they use the verb zusammenhalten. -Und Glück ist wie die Erde, die ales was air Sind, zusammenhält.-
When I look in the dictionary, it says that zusammenhalten separates, and that zusammen is a prefix that always separates. But of course I see here that it doesn't always separate. So can any separating verb stay unseparated when you conjugate it if you want to keep a more poetic sound?

Thanks in advance

Question

I'm pretty much a beginner in German but I have a question about separable and inseparable verbs. I have read that there are verbs where the prefixes separate, others that don't and some, like those beginning with durch that sometimes separate. The inseparable version often being less literal and more figurative in meaning.  In the German pop song Glück, they use the verb zusammenhalten.  -Und Glück ist wie die Erde, die ales was air Sind, zusammenhält.-
When I look in the dictionary, it says that zusammenhalten separates, and that zusammen is a prefix that always separates.  But of course I see here that it doesn't always separate.  So can any separating verb stay unseparated when you conjugate it if you want to keep a more poetic sound?

Thanks in advance

Broockle · Answer

If the dictionary would need to hold "zusammen" "halten" and "zusammenhalten" as separate entries that would just waste space. Imagine all the word combinations you'd have to include, it'd be madness. 
I'm not actually sure either why zusammenhalten is written together, I guess someone just thought it looked better 😅
Dun think to much about it, just learn it for now. Not sure if there's a rule for this kind of thing. Technically you could write it separate as well and I'm not sure anyone would notice.

2Happy9 · Answer

i'm not that good at the theory of my native language 😅 but i think it's the type of the sentence that makes the word split.

Zusammenhalten:
wir halten zusammen (main clause)
...., "weil" wir zusammenhalten (sub clause with weil)
...., denn wir halten zusammen (sub clause with "denn")

Die Erde hält alles zusammen (main clause)
Die Erde, die alles zusammenhält (relative clause subclause)

Broockle · Answer

Zusammen is not exactly a prefix, it just mean together, maybe it acts like one though. 
Usually prefixes aren't words by themselves so it's a bit weird to me. 
I can see it being confusing if you say "Er hält alles zusammen". In that sentence structure it actually does separate.

hysinberg · Answer

@PabloLASF 
This might be helpful for you

Zusammen is not exactly a prefix, it just mean together, maybe it acts like one though. Usually prefixes aren't words by themselves so it's a bit weird to me. I can see it being confusing if you say "Er hält alles zusammen". In that sentence structure it actually does separate.

@PabloLASF This might be helpful for you

Zusammen is not exactly a prefix, it just mean together, maybe it acts like one though.
Usually prefixes aren't words by themselves so it's a bit weird to me.
I can see it being confusing if you say "Er hält alles zusammen". In that sentence structure it actually does separate.

@PabloLASF
This might be helpful for you