Conjugation of the german verbs (present tense)
Conjugation of german verbs. General notions.
Konjugation der Verben.
Building time Bildung der Zeitformen
If we want to express an action in time (present, past, future) we need to habe the ability to conjugate verbs. When we are conjugating a verb, it changes it's shape according to person, number and time. For each time there are some rules that have to be learned in order to conjugate a verb.
What is the conjugation of verbs? The conjugation is a procedure through which we modify the shape of the verb according to each pronoun.
Example:
Let's conjugate the verb ”to go”
Singular number | Plural number | |
Person I | I go | we go |
Person II | you go | you go |
Person III | he, she, it goes | they go |
As we already know according to their conjungation there are two types of verbs:
- Regular verbs (Regelmäßige Verben) – also called weak verbs
- Irregular verbs (Unregelmäßige Verben) – also called strong verbs
The conjugation of regular verbs is simple because it shares the same rule for al this kind of verbs.
1. The present (Gegenwart)
It is formed by adding the following endings to the root of the infinitive verb
| singular number | plural number |
1st person | - e | - en |
2nd person | - (e)st | - (e)t |
3rd person | - (e)t | - en |
Observație! The infinitive verb is the regular verb as found in the dictionary.
The root of the infinitive verb is obtained by eliminating the ending -en
Example:
the verb ”to walk” = ”gehen”
"gehen" is the infinitive form of the verb, the root is obtained by cutting the ending "-en", this way we get "geh". Now we have to add to "geh" an ending from the above table.
1st person, singular we will have the following situation:
to walk = gehen
gehen + e, results in ”gehe”
I walk – Ich gehe
to say = sagen
sagen + e, results in ”sage”
I say – Ich sage
The conjugation of regular verbs in present tense
Let's conjugate the verb "to do" = "machen"
machen + an ending from the above table
Singular number | Plural number | |
Person I | ich mache | wir machen |
Person II | du machst | ihr macht |
Person III | er, sie, es macht | sie, Sie machen |
There is a category of verbs in the frame of regular verbs wich conjugation is made a bit differently
This verbs, after the elimination of the ending "-en", if they are ending in “t”, “d”,” m” or “n” we introduce the vowel "e" between the root and the endings. This applies only for 2nd and 3rd person - singular, and 2nd person - plural
Let's see an example:
The verb ”to work” = ”arbeiten”
arbeiten + e + an ending from the above table for each person (pronoun), singular and plural
Singular number | Plural number | |
Person I | ich arbeite | wir arbeiten |
Person II | du arbeitest | ihr arbeitet |
Person III | er, sie, es arbeitet | sie, Sie arbeiten |
Examples of this kind of verbs: antworten = to answer; arbeiten = to work; atmen = to breathe; begegnen = to meet; beobachten = to observe; bilden = toformulate; bitten = to invite; finden = to find; heiraten = to marry; mieten = to rent; öffnen = to open; rechnen = to calculate; reden = to speak; retten = to save; trocknen = to get dry; warten = to wait; zeichnen = to draw etc.
The conjugation of irrregular verbs in present tense
- during the conjugation we use the same endings as in the case of regular verbs
- during the conjugation it takes place a vowel change in the root of the verb at 2nd and 3rd person singular
Example:
sehen = to see
sehen + an ending form the above table according to person and number
singular number | plural number | |
Person I | ich sehe | wir sehen |
Person II | du siehst | ihr seht |
Person III | er, sie, es sieht | sie, Sie sehen |
Remember! The vowel change takes place only for 2nd and 3rd person singular. In plural it all remains the same as in the case of regular verbs
Table with the most common irregular (strong) german verbs that change their vowels for 2nd and 3rd person during the conjugation (present).
2nd person singular du (you) | 3rd person singular: er, sie, es (he, she, it) | |
e → i | ||
brechen = to break | brichst | bricht |
essen = to eat | isst | isst |
geben = to give | gibst | gibt |
helfen = to help | hilfst | hilft |
nehmen = to take | nimmst | nimmt |
sprechen = to talk | sprichst | spricht |
treffen = to meet | triffst | trifft |
vergessen = to forget | vergisst | vergisst |
werfen = to throw | wirfst | wirft |
e → ie | ||
befehlen = to command | befiehlst | befiehlt |
empfehlen = to recommand | empfiehlst | empfiehlt |
geschehen = to happen | - | geschieht |
lesen = to read | liest | liest |
a → ä | ||
blasen = to blow | bläst | bläst |
fahren = to drive/to travel | fährst | fährt |
fangen = to catch | fängst | fängt |
halten = to hold | hältst | hält |
laden = to load | lädst | lädt |
lassen = to leave | lässt | lässt |
schlafen = to sleeep | schläfst | schläft |
schlagen = to hit | schlägst | schlägt |
tragen = to pull | trägst | trägt |
waschen = to wash | wäschst | wäscht |
au → äu | ||
laufen = to run | läufst | läuft |
saufen = to get drunk | säufst | säuft |