How to use mitfeiern?

Question

I came across this phrase >Schade, dass wir nicht mitfeiern können which means >Shame we can’t be there to celebrate with you but I couldn’t find more examples of these word. I think it translates something like *celebrate with you*. Is it correct that it is used with 2nd person singular?

Answer 1

You are right, "mitfeiern" means "to celebrate together with someone", because English doesn't have something like "withcelebrate" but German does. In German, you can use the prefix "mit" and add it to a number of verbs to create the same effect, e.g. "mitkommen" (to come with/ accompany someone), "mitspielen" (to play with someone/ join the game), or "mitmachen" (to participate in something; literally "to withmake", which of course does not exist in English). These are all separable verbs, i.e. the prefix "mit" splits off when the verb is conjugated: ich feiere mit, du feierst mit, er/sie/es/man feiert mit, wir feiern mit, ihr feiert mit, sie/Sie feiern mit. The same applies for the other verbs with the prefix "mit".