German verbs play a vital role in constructing German sentences correctly. Unlike in English, German verbs change form depending on who or what is performing the action. This is called conjugation.
Knowing how to conjugate German verbs properly is essential in communicating clearly in the German language. Verbs in German conjugate according to:
- Person (first person I, second person you, third person he/she/it)
- Number (singular or plural)
- Tense (present, past, future)
- Mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive)
- Voice (active, passive)
This explainer will focus specifically on conjugating regular German verbs in the present tense.
Defining Regular Verbs
Most German verbs are classified as weak/regular verbs. Regular verbs follow consistent conjugation patterns in the present tense, unlike irregular verbs which can undergo vowel changes.
Common examples of German regular verbs include:
- Arbeiten (to work)
- Fragen (to ask)
- Antworten (to answer)
- Lernen (to learn)
- Spielen (to play)
- Schreiben (to write)
Once you learn the basic present tense conjugation rules for weak verbs, you can apply them consistently across hundreds of regular verbs in German.
Present Tense Conjugation Endings
When conjugating German verbs to the present tense, endings are added to the infinitive verb stem. The infinitive form ends in -en or -n.
The endings to use for regular verbs in the present tense are:
Ich (I) - e
Du (you singular informal) - st
Er/sie/es (he/she/it) - t
Wir (we) - en
Ihr (you plural informal) - t
Sie (you formal singular & plural) - en
So for a verb like "arbeiten" (to work), the present tense endings are added as follows:
Ich arbeite
Du arbeitest
Er/sie/es arbeitet
Wir arbeiten
Ihr arbeitet
Sie arbeiten
Mastering the endings for each subject is essential to conjugate verbs correctly. The following sections will provide more details and examples.
Present Tense Conjugation for "Ich"
The "ich" (I) conjugation is one of the simplest. For regular verbs, ich always ends in -e in the present tense.
For example:
Infinitive: lernen (to learn)
Ich lern-e (I learn)
Other examples:
Fragen (to ask) -> Ich frag-e (I ask)
Antworten (to answer) -> Ich antwort-e (I answer)
Arbeiten (to work) -> Ich arbeit-e (I work)
No matter the regular verb, ich always takes the -e ending in the present tense.
Present Tense Conjugation for "Du"
The informal “you” in German is “du.” For regular verbs, du adds the ending -st in the present tense.
For example:
Infinitive: spielen (to play)
Du spiel-st (You play)
Other examples:
Lernen (to learn) -> Du lern-st (You learn)
Schreiben (to write) -> Du schreib-st (You write)
Fragen (to ask) -> Du frag-st (You ask)
Familiarizing yourself with the -st ending for du will help you conjugate correctly.
Present Tense Conjugation for "Er/Sie/Es"
The third person singular (he/she/it) ends in -t in the present tense for regular verbs.
For example:
Infinitive: arbeiten (to work)
Er/sie/es arbeit-et (He/she/it works)
Other examples:
Lernen (to learn) -> Er/sie/es lern-t (He/she/it learns)
Schreiben (to write) -> Er/sie/es schreib-t (He/she/it writes)
Fragen (to ask) -> Er/sie/es frag-t (He/she/it asks)
The third person singular is a very common subject, so memorizing the -t ending is essential.
Present Tense Conjugation for "Wir"
Wir means “we” in German. The wir form ends in -en for regular verbs in the present tense.
For example:
Infinitive: spielen (to play)
Wir spiel-en (We play)
Other examples:
Arbeiten (to work) -> Wir arbeit-en (We work)
Lernen (to learn) -> Wir lern-en (We learn)
Schreiben (to write) -> Wir schreib-en (We write)
Whenever you need to say “we” do something, remember that the -en ending applies.
Present Tense Conjugation for “Ihr”
Ihr is the informal/familiar way to say “you all” in German. For regular verbs, ihr takes the ending -t in the present tense.
For example:
Infinitive: fragen (to ask)
Ihr frag-t (You all ask)
Other examples:
Arbeiten (to work) -> Ihr arbeit-et (You all work)
Lernen (to learn) -> Ihr lern-t (You all learn)
Schreiben (to write) -> Ihr schreib-t (You all write)
When addressing a group informally in German, the -t ending signals ihr in the present tense.
Present Tense Conjugation for “Sie”
Sie is the formal version of “you” in German, used for both singular and plural. Sie uses the same ending as wir (-en) for regular verbs in the present tense.
For example:
Infinitive: antworten (to answer)
Sie antwort-en (You answer)
Other examples:
Arbeiten (to work) -> Sie arbeit-en (You work)
Lernen (to learn) -> Sie lern-en (You learn)
Schreiben (to write) -> Sie schreib-en (You write)
In formal situations, remember that Sie takes the -en ending.
Tips for Proper Present Tense Conjugation
Here are some useful tips to help you master conjugating German regular verbs correctly in the present tense:
- Learn the subject pronoun endings: -e (ich), -st (du), -t (er/sie/es), -en (wir), -t (ihr), -en (Sie).
- Identify the subject first, then add the appropriate ending to the verb stem.
- Practicing the endings out loud can help reinforce them.
- If you forget an ending, remember that ich, wir, and Sie all use -en.
- Pay attention to patterns. For example, du, er/sie/es, and ihr all end in -t.
- Highlight or underline the endings in verb conjugation charts or tables for easy reference.
- Learn verbs together with their related nouns to reinforce meaning.
- Quiz yourself by covering the subject pronouns in example sentences and trying to conjugate the verb correctly.
- Immerse yourself in German as much as possible through reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The more exposure you have, the more intuition you will develop for conjugation.
With regular practice and an awareness of the present tense endings, conjugating German verbs will become second nature over time. Patience and persistence are key!
Conjugating Verbs with Reflexive Pronouns
Many German verbs are reflexive, meaning they use reflexive pronouns such as mich, dich, sich, uns, euch.
Reflexive pronouns correspond to the subject to emphasize that the subject is acting on itself. For example:
Ich wasche mich. (I wash myself).
The reflexive pronoun mich refers back to the subject ich.
Here’s how to conjugate reflexive verbs in the present tense:
- Identify the subject pronoun (ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, Sie).
- Add the corresponding reflexive pronoun (mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich).
- Add the appropriate present tense ending (-e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en).
For example:
Infinitive: sich freuen (to be happy)
Ich freue mich. (I am happy).
Du freust dich. (You are happy).
Er/sie/es freut sich. (He/She/it is happy).
Wir freuen uns. (We are happy).
Ihr freut euch. (You all are happy).
Sie freuen sich. (You are happy).
Other examples:
Sich konzentrieren (to concentrate)
Sich ausruhen (to rest)
Sich beeilen (to hurry)
Conjugating Separable Verbs
Separable verbs are verbs with prefixes that can be separated from the stem. For example:
Fernsehen (to watch TV) - ferns + ehen
When conjugating separable verbs in German:
- Conjugate the verb stem as normal in the present tense.
- Move the prefix to the end of the clause.
For example:
Infinitive: fernsehen (to watch TV)
Ich sehe fern. (I watch TV).
Du siehst fern. (You watch TV).
Er/sie/es sieht fern. (He/She/It watches TV).
Wir sehen fern. (We watch TV).
Ihr seht fern. (You all watch TV).
Sie sehen fern. (You watch TV).
Other common separable prefix verbs:
Mitkommen (to come along)
Anfangen (to begin)
Aufräumen (to clean up)
Conjugating Stem-Changing Verbs
Some common regular verbs in German undergo a vowel change in the stem when conjugated to the present tense. These include:
- b, g, z verbs: changes a to ä
- i/ie, e/ie verbs: changes i to ie and e to ie
For example:
Infinitive: beginnen (to begin)
Ich beginne (I begin)
Du beginnst (You begin)
Er/sie/es beginnt (He/She/It begins)
Wir beginnen (We begin)
Ihr beginnt (You all begin)
Sie beginnen (You begin)
The stem vowel changes from i to ie.
Other examples:
b: bitten (to request)
g: geben (to give)
z: zeigen (to show)
i/ie: lieben (to love)
e/ie: helfen (to help)
Remember the vowel change when conjugating these common verbs.
Putting It All Together
Once you learn the basic present tense endings for regular German verbs, you can conjugate hundreds of verbs consistently.
Here are some examples bringing together everything we've covered:
Infinitive: sich konzentrieren (to concentrate)
Ich konzentriere mich. (I concentrate).
Du konzentrierst dich. (You concentrate).
Er/sie/es konzentriert sich. (He/She/It concentrates).
Wir konzentrieren uns. (We concentrate).
Ihr konzentriert euch. (You all concentrate).
Sie konzentrieren sich. (You concentrate).
Infinitive: anfangen (to begin)
Ich fange an. (I begin).
Du fängst an. (You begin).
Er/sie/es fängt an. (He/She/It begins).
Wir fangen an. (We begin).
Ihr fangt an. (You all begin).
Sie fangen an. (You begin).
Infinitive: helfen (to help)
Ich helfe. (I help).
Du hilfst. (You help).
Er/sie/es hilft. (He/She/It helps).
Wir helfen. (We help).
Ihr helft. (You all help).
Sie helfen. (You help).
With regular practice conjugating a variety of regular verbs, you will be well on your way to mastering present tense grammar in German!
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