The author introduces the notion of `spatial event pattern' for describing verbs or verbal phrases of searching in German. It is assumed that dynamic happenings in the world are an excellent source of information about the world, that a great deal of utterances therefore relate to them, and that the task of verbalizing such a happening requires an understanding of what is going on there, which in turn is achieved by being able to relate mostly unconciously the particular incident to an abstract, cognitive model.