The English present tense is more complex than the German present tense. English has three forms to consider:
du reist (travel)
du hasst (hate)
du schließt (close)
du heizt (heat)
du putzt (polish)
2. If a verb stem ends in -t or -d, an -e is added before the conjugational ending in the secondperson singular and plural (du, ihr) and in the third-person singular (er, sie, es).
habitual I speak German.
incomplete or progressive I am speaking German.
emphatic I do speak German.
German has only one present-tense form, which is similar to the English habitual form, but it can be translated into all three English forms:
Ich spreche Deutsch. I speak German. I am speaking German. I do speak German.
Regular verbs
German regular verbs are those that do not make a change in the stem of the verb when conjugated.
The stem of the verb is the infinitive minus the -en ending. For example:
The stem of the verb is the infinitive minus the -en ending. For example:
heben heb
fragen frag-
Let’s look at a few regular verbs in the present-tense conjugation. Notice that the third-person singular (er, sie, es = he, she, it) is illustrated here by the pronoun er. The third-person plural sie (they) and Sie (you formal) are illustrated by the pronoun sie. When singular sie cannot be differentiated from plural sie, they will be identified as sie s. and sie pl. respectively.
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heben (lift)
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fragen (ask)
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stellen (put)
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brauchen (need)
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ich
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hebe
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frage
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stelle
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brauche
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du
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hebst
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fragst
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stellst
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brauchst
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er
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hebt
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fragt
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stellt
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braucht
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wir
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heben
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fragen
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stellen
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brauchen
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ihr
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hebt
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fragt
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stellt
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braucht
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sie
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heben
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fragen
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stellen
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brauchen
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All regular verbs follow the preceding pattern. However, there are some spelling rules to consider.
1. If a verb stem ends in -s, -ss, -ß, -z, or -tz, the second-person singular (du) present-tense
ending reverts to a -t. The full ending -st is not used. For example:
ending reverts to a -t. The full ending -st is not used. For example:
du reist (travel)
du hasst (hate)
du schließt (close)
du heizt (heat)
du putzt (polish)
2. If a verb stem ends in -t or -d, an -e is added before the conjugational ending in the secondperson singular and plural (du, ihr) and in the third-person singular (er, sie, es).
For example:
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arbeiten (work)
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enden (end)
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ich
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arbeite
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ende
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du
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arbeitest
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endest
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er
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arbeitet
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endet
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wir
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arbeiten
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enden
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ihr
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arbeitet
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endet
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sie
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arbeiten
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enden
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3. If the verb stem ends in -eln or -ern, the written and spoken versions of the present-tense conjugation of the first-person singular (ich) often differ.
Let’s look at two examples.
written version
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lächeln (smile)
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hämmern (hammer)
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ich
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lächele
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hämmere
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du
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lächelst
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hämmerst
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er
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lächelt
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hämmert
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wir
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lächeln
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hämmern
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ihr
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lächelt
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hämmert
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sie
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lächeln
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hämmern
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spoken version
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lächeln (smile)
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hämmern (hammer)
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ich
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lächle
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hämmre
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du
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lächelst
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hämmerst
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er
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lächelt
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hämmert
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wir
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lächeln
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hämmern
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ihr
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lächelt
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hämmert
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sie
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lächeln
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hämmern
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The list of regular verbs is very large. Here are just a few of the most commonly used regular
verbs:
verbs:
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hören
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hear
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kaufen
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buy
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klatschen
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clap
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lachen
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laugh
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legen
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lay
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machen
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make, do
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öffnen
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open
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setzen
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set
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suchen
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look for
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warten
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wait
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Irregular verbs
German irregular verbs in the present tense are of two types: (1) those that make a vowel change in the stem of the infinitive and (2) those that add an umlaut to the vowel in the stem of the infinitive. First let’s look at some verbs that make a vowel change in the stem of the infinitive. That vowel change is always from -e- to -i- or -ie- and occurs only in the second- and third-person singular.
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geben (give)
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befehlen (order)
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ich
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gebe
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befehle
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du
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gibst
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befiehlst
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er
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gibt
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befiehlt
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wir
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geben
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befehlen
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ihr
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gebt
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befehlt
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sie
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geben
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befehlen
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Here are just a few of the irregular verbs that change the vowel -e- in the present-tense conjugation to -i- or -ie-.
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lächeln (smile)
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hämmern (hammer)
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brechen (i)
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break
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essen (i)
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eat
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helfen (i)
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help
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lesen (ie)
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read
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nehmen (i)
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take
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sehen (ie)
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see
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sprechen (i)
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speak
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stehlen (ie)
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steal
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sterben (i)
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die
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treffen (i)
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meet
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Verbs that add an umlaut to the vowel (a or o) of the stem of an infinitive make this change only in the second- and third-person singular.
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halten (hold)
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stoßen (punch,kick)
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ich
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halte
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stoße
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du
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hältst
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stößt
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er
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hält
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stößt
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wir
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halten
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stoßen
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ihr
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haltet
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stoßt
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sie
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halten
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stoßen
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Here are just a few of the irregular verbs that add an umlaut to a vowel in the present-tense conjugation.
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backen (ä)
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bake
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einladen (ä)
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invite
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fahren (ä)
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travel
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fallen (ä)
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fall
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fangen (ä)
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catch
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laufen (ä)
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run
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schlafen (ä)
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sleep
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schlagen (ä)
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hit
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tragen (ä)
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wear, carry
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waschen (ä)
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wash
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The verb stoßen is the only verb that adds an umlaut to the vowel o in the irregular present tense.
In all other cases, it is the vowel a that takes an umlaut in the irregular present tense.
Three important irregular verbs are haben, sein, and werden. Besides their own basic meaning, these three verbs are also used to form other tenses and must be understood well. Here is their conjugation in the present tense.
In all other cases, it is the vowel a that takes an umlaut in the irregular present tense.
Three important irregular verbs are haben, sein, and werden. Besides their own basic meaning, these three verbs are also used to form other tenses and must be understood well. Here is their conjugation in the present tense.
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haben (have)
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sein (be)
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werden (become)
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ich
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habe
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bin
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werde
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du
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hast
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bist
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wirst
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er
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hat
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ist
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wird
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wir
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haben
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sind
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werden
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ihr
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habt
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seid
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werdet
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sie
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haben
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sind
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werden
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Modal auxiliaries
The modal auxiliaries are verbs that are conjugated in a special way in the present tense, and they are frequently used in combination with another verb in the form of an infinitive. The present-tense conjugation of a modal auxiliary has one stem form in the singular and another stem form in the plural. This also occurs with the verb wissen. Let’s look at the present tense of the modal auxiliaries and wissen.
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dürfen (may)
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können (can)
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mögen (like, may)
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müssen (must)
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ich
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darf
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kann
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mag
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muss
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du
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darfst
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kannst
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magst
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musst
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er
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darf
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kann
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mag
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muss
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wir
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dürfen
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können
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mögen
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müssen
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ihr
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dürft
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könnt
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mögt
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müsst
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sie
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dürfen
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können
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mögen
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müssen
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sollen (should)
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wollen (want)
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wissen (know)
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müssen (must)
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ich
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soll
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will
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weiß
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muss
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du
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sollst
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willst
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weißt
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musst
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er
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soll
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will
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weiß
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muss
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wir
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sollen
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wollen
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wissen
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müssen
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ihr
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sollt
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wollt
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wisst
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müsst
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sie
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sollen
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wollen
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wissen
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müssen
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When the subject of a sentence is a noun, singular nouns will use the third-person singular conjugation of a verb, and plural nouns will use the third-person plural conjugation of a verb. For example:
Er spricht Deutsch. He speaks German.
Das Kind spricht Deutsch. The child speaks German.
Sie lernen schnell. They learn fast.
Diese Mädchen lernen schnell. These girls learn fast.
When the subject of the sentence is wer, was, or man, the verb is likewise conjugated in the thirdperson singular.
Wer ist das? Who’s that?
Was liegt unter dem Tisch? What’s lying under the table?
Man soll fleißig arbeiten. One should work diligently.
Er spricht Deutsch. He speaks German.
Das Kind spricht Deutsch. The child speaks German.
Sie lernen schnell. They learn fast.
Diese Mädchen lernen schnell. These girls learn fast.
When the subject of the sentence is wer, was, or man, the verb is likewise conjugated in the thirdperson singular.
Wer ist das? Who’s that?
Was liegt unter dem Tisch? What’s lying under the table?
Man soll fleißig arbeiten. One should work diligently.