to complete
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to complete
To make something that is incomplete complete by adding the missing parts or information.
Bitte vervollständigen Sie das Formular mit Ihren persönlichen Daten.
Please complete the form with your personal details.
The word is easy to derive: the adjective 'vollständig' (complete) is turned into a verb with the prefix 'ver-'. So 'vervollständigen' (to complete) literally means to make something complete.
Ich muss meine Notizen für die Prüfung noch vervollständigen.
I still have to complete my notes for the exam.
'Vervollständigen' (to complete) begins with the prefix 'ver-' and is therefore an inseparable verb. The prefix is never separated from the rest of the verb in a sentence.
Er vervollständigte den Bericht mit den neuesten Zahlen.
He completed the report with the latest figures.
This verb is transitive and needs an accusative object. You ask: Whom or what are you completing? The answer is the thing being made complete.
Der Archäologe vervollständigte das zerbrochene Mosaik.
The archaeologist completed the broken mosaic.
'Vervollständigen' (to complete) is often used in formal or instructional contexts. Typical objects are: a sentence, a list, a collection, a form, or personal details.
Um die Anmeldung abzuschließen, müssen Sie Ihre Daten vervollständigen.
To finish the registration, you must complete your details.
to add / supplement
Ergänzen and vervollständigen can both refer to adding information. Ergänzen also works for adding an extra piece of information, without everything having to be complete afterward. Vervollständigen, by contrast, emphasizes that the remaining missing information is added, creating a complete whole.
Mira vervollständigt den Bericht mit der noch fehlenden Quellenangabe.
Mira completes the report with the source citation that was still missing.
Mira ergänzt den fertigen Bericht um einen hilfreichen Hinweis.
Mira adds a helpful note to the finished report.
