Is there a difference in meaning or can both expressions be used interchangeably?
I also wonder about the strong difference of meaning between bereiten (prepare) and reiten (ride). How is it possible?
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Sign up to join this communityTo the first question: The words are close relatives, but don't exactly mean the same.
Ich bereite das Essen vor.
means I'm preparing the meal (in advance).
Ich bereite das Essen (zu).
means I'm cooking it right now. "Vorbereiten" means "to prepare something in advance" or "to prepare for something", while "(zu)bereiten" can often be simply replaced with "to do something". The later isn't always possible:
Ich bereite mich auf die Prüfung vor.
This cannot be said without "vor".
Edit: See comments below. Note also the difference between
Ich bereite das Essen vor
and
Ich bereite mich auf das Essen vor
The first means i'm cooking, the second means getting ready for the meal (i.e. outside the house).
Ich bereite das Bett.
and Ich bereite das Bett vor. (In the context of preparing for the night)
are equivalent.
Regarding the second question, that's coincidence. Actually bereiten derives from bereit, it's not the prefix be- added to reiten.
Etymologically reiten, and bereiten are related but today their meaning is different.