Verbs

German verbs are the engine of every sentence. Like English, they change form based on who's doing the action (conjugation) and when it happens (tense). Unlike English, German verb conjugation follows more regular patterns, making it easier to predict once you know the rules. This page covers the essential verb patterns you need for everyday communication.

Verb infinitives

The infinitive is the base form of the verb — what you'll find in dictionaries. In English, infinitives use "to" (to speak, to eat). German infinitives typically end in "-en", occasionally just "-n". When you learn a new verb, you learn its infinitive form first:

German infinitives (the "to" form) typically end in -en:

• 🔊 machen — to make/do
• 🔊 spielen — to play
• 🔊 kommen — to come
• 🔊 gehen — to go

A few end in -n:

• 🔊 sein — to be
• 🔊 tun — to do

Present tense conjugation

To conjugate a regular verb in the present tense, remove the "-en" ending to get the stem, then add the appropriate ending for each person. The endings are highly predictable: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en. Once you know these six endings, you can conjugate thousands of regular verbs:

Regular pattern: machen (to make/do)

Here's the complete conjugation pattern. "Machen" (to make/do) is a common regular verb that demonstrates the standard endings clearly:

Person	Pronoun	Stem + Ending	Meaning
1st singular	ich	🔊 mache	I make
2nd singular	du	🔊 machst	you make (informal)
3rd singular	er/sie/es	🔊 macht	he/she/it makes
1st plural	wir	🔊 machen	we make
2nd plural	ihr	🔊 macht	you make (informal plural)
3rd plural	sie	🔊 machen	they make
Formal	Sie	🔊 machen	you make (formal)

Stem-ending adjustments

Some verb stems end in consonants that make the standard endings hard to pronounce. When the stem ends in "-t", "-d", or certain consonant clusters, German adds an extra "-e-" before the "-st" and "-t" endings. This is purely for ease of pronunciation — "arbeitst" would be awkward, so it becomes "arbeitest":

🔊 arbeiten (to work):

• 🔊 ich arbeite
• 🔊 du arbeitest
• 🔊 er arbeitet
• 🔊 ihr arbeitet

If the stem ends in -s, -ß, -z, or -x, the du form only adds -t:

🔊 reisen (to travel):

• 🔊 du reist (not reisst)

Important irregular verbs

Every language has irregular verbs, and the most common verbs are usually the most irregular. German is no exception. "Sein" (to be) and "haben" (to have) are used in virtually every conversation and as auxiliaries for forming past tenses. Memorise their forms completely — you'll use them constantly.

sein (to be)

"Sein" is completely irregular — none of its forms resemble the infinitive. This is true in most European languages (English: am/is/are/was/were). Learn these forms by heart:

Person	Form	Example
ich	🔊 bin	🔊 Ich bin müde. (I am tired.)
du	🔊 bist	🔊 Du bist nett. (You are nice.)
er/sie/es	🔊 ist	🔊 Es ist kalt. (It is cold.)
wir	🔊 sind	🔊 Wir sind hier. (We are here.)
ihr	🔊 seid	🔊 Ihr seid spät. (You are late.)
sie/Sie	🔊 sind	🔊 Sie sind willkommen. (You are welcome.)

haben (to have)

"Haben" is less irregular than "sein" but still has some quirks. The "du" and "er/sie/es" forms drop the "b" ("hast", "hat"). "Haben" is essential as it's used to form the past tense (Perfekt) for most verbs:

Person	Form	Example
ich	🔊 habe	🔊 Ich habe Zeit. (I have time.)
du	🔊 hast	🔊 Du hast Recht. (You are right.)
er/sie/es	🔊 hat	🔊 Sie hat Hunger. (She is hungry.)
wir	🔊 haben	🔊 Wir haben ein Auto. (We have a car.)
ihr	🔊 habt	🔊 Ihr habt Glück. (You are lucky.)
sie/Sie	🔊 haben	🔊 Sie haben Post. (You have mail.)

werden (to become / auxiliary for future)

"Werden" means "to become" but is also used as the auxiliary verb for forming the future tense. Like English "will", it combines with an infinitive to express future actions. It's also used for the passive voice. A versatile and essential verb:

Person	Form
ich	🔊 werde
du	🔊 wirst
er/sie/es	🔊 wird
wir	🔊 werden
ihr	🔊 werdet
sie/Sie	🔊 werden

Stem-changing verbs

Many of the most common German verbs are "stem-changing" — they modify their vowel in the "du" and "er/sie/es" forms only. This happens in the present tense and affects speaking, giving, eating, seeing, and many other everyday verbs. The changes follow predictable patterns (e→i, e→ie, a→a), so once you recognise the pattern, you can predict the changes.

e → i

Some verbs with "e" in the stem change it to "i" in the second and third person singular. This is common in verbs of speaking, giving, and taking:

Infinitive	du	er/sie/es	Meaning
🔊 sprechen	🔊 sprichst	🔊 spricht	to speak
🔊 geben	🔊 gibst	🔊 gibt	to give
🔊 essen	🔊 isst	🔊 isst	to eat
🔊 nehmen	🔊 nimmst	🔊 nimmt	to take
🔊 helfen	🔊 hilfst	🔊 hilft	to help

e → ie

Other verbs with "e" change it to "ie" (a longer sound). This typically happens in verbs of seeing and reading. The "ie" represents a longer vowel sound than the simple "i":

Infinitive	du	er/sie/es	Meaning
🔊 sehen	🔊 siehst	🔊 sieht	to see
🔊 lesen	🔊 liest	🔊 liest	to read
🔊 empfehlen	🔊 empfiehlst	🔊 empfiehlt	to recommend

a → ä

Verbs with "a" in the stem often add an umlaut, becoming "a". This happens in common verbs of motion and action like driving, sleeping, and running. The umlaut shifts the vowel sound forward in your mouth:

Infinitive	du	er/sie/es	Meaning
🔊 fahren	🔊 fährst	🔊 fährt	to drive/travel
🔊 schlafen	🔊 schläfst	🔊 schläft	to sleep
🔊 tragen	🔊 trägst	🔊 trägt	to wear/carry
🔊 laufen	🔊 läufst	🔊 läuft	to run/walk

Modal verbs

Modal verbs express ability (can), necessity (must), desire (want), permission (may), and obligation (should). German has six modal verbs, all of which are irregular. They work with another verb in the infinitive, which goes to the end of the sentence. Mastering modals dramatically expands what you can express — "I can speak German", "I must go now", "I want to read":

Infinitive	Meaning	ich	du	er/sie/es	wir	ihr	sie/Sie
🔊 können	can, able to	🔊 kann	🔊 kannst	kann	können	könnt	können
🔊 müssen	must, have to	🔊 muss	🔊 musst	muss	müssen	müsst	müssen
🔊 wollen	want to	🔊 will	🔊 willst	will	wollen	wollt	wollen
🔊 sollen	should	🔊 soll	🔊 sollst	soll	sollen	sollt	sollen
🔊 dürfen	may, allowed to	🔊 darf	🔊 darfst	darf	dürfen	dürft	dürfen
🔊 mögen	like to	🔊 mag	🔊 magst	mag	mögen	mögt	mögen

Sentence structure with modals:

• 🔊 Ich kann Deutsch sprechen. — I can speak German.
• 🔊 Du musst jetzt gehen. — You must go now.
• 🔊 Sie will ein Buch lesen. — She wants to read a book.

Past tense: Perfekt

For everyday spoken German, the Perfekt is the go-to past tense. It's similar to English "I have done" but is used where English would use simple past ("I did"). The Perfekt uses an auxiliary verb ("haben" or "sein") plus a past participle. Learning to form past participles is essential for talking about anything that happened in the past.

Regular (weak) verbs

Regular verbs form their past participle predictably: add "ge-" to the beginning and "-t" to the end of the stem. "Machen" (to make) becomes "gemacht" (made). This pattern covers thousands of verbs:

Past participle = ge- + stem + -t

Infinitive	Past participle	Example
🔊 machen	🔊 gemacht	🔊 Ich habe es gemacht. (I did it.)
🔊 spielen	🔊 gespielt	🔊 Wir haben gespielt. (We played.)
🔊 kaufen	🔊 gekauft	🔊 Sie hat es gekauft. (She bought it.)

Irregular (strong) verbs

Irregular (strong) verbs form past participles differently: they often have vowel changes in the stem and end in "-en" instead of "-t". "Sehen" (to see) becomes "gesehen" (seen), "sprechen" (to speak) becomes "gesprochen" (spoken). These must be memorised, but many follow patterns you'll recognise:

Infinitive	Past participle	Example
🔊 sehen	🔊 gesehen	🔊 Ich habe ihn gesehen. (I saw him.)
🔊 geben	🔊 gegeben	🔊 Er hat mir Geld gegeben. (He gave me money.)
🔊 sprechen	🔊 gesprochen	🔊 Wir haben Deutsch gesprochen. (We spoke German.)
🔊 fahren	🔊 gefahren	🔊 Sie ist nach Berlin gefahren. (She went to Berlin.)

Verbs with sein

Most verbs form the Perfekt with "haben", but verbs of movement or change of state use "sein" instead. Think: "I have arrived" doesn't work in German — it's "Ich bin angekommen" (I am arrived). If the verb involves going somewhere or becoming something different, use "sein":

Verb	Past participle	Example
🔊 gehen	🔊 gegangen	🔊 Ich bin gegangen. (I went.)
🔊 kommen	🔊 gekommen	🔊 Er ist gekommen. (He came.)
🔊 werden	🔊 geworden	🔊 Sie ist müde geworden. (She became tired.)
🔊 sein	🔊 gewesen	🔊 Wir sind dort gewesen. (We were there.)

Past tense: Präteritum

The Prateritum (simple past) is used primarily in written German — novels, newspapers, formal reports. In speech, you'll mainly encounter it with "sein", "haben", and modal verbs, where it sounds more natural than Perfekt. "Ich war mude" (I was tired) is more common in speech than "Ich bin mude gewesen".

sein (was/were)

The Prateritum of "sein" is used constantly in both speech and writing. These forms are essential:

Person	Form
ich	🔊 war
du	🔊 warst
er/sie/es	🔊 war
wir	🔊 waren
ihr	🔊 wart
sie/Sie	🔊 waren

haben (had)

The Prateritum of "haben" is also common in speech, especially in northern Germany. These forms are straightforward — add endings to the stem "hatt-":

Person	Form
ich	🔊 hatte
du	🔊 hattest
er/sie/es	🔊 hatte
wir	🔊 hatten
ihr	🔊 hattet
sie/Sie	🔊 hatten

Future tense

German forms the future tense using "werden" (the verb you learned means "to become") plus an infinitive at the end of the sentence. This is similar to English "will" + verb. However, German often uses the present tense with a time expression to indicate future actions, especially for definite plans:

• 🔊 Ich werde morgen kommen. — I will come tomorrow.
• 🔊 Es wird regnen. — It will rain.
• 🔊 Wir werden sehen. — We will see.

Often, present tense with a time expression implies future:

• 🔊 Ich komme morgen. — I'm coming tomorrow.

Separable verbs

A distinctive feature of German is separable verbs — verbs with prefixes that detach and move to the end of the sentence. "Aufstehen" (to get up) splits into "Ich stehe... auf" (I get... up). The prefix carries meaning (auf = up, an = at/on, ein = in, mit = with) and must go to the end in main clauses. This takes practice but becomes natural:

Verb	Meaning	Example
🔊 aufstehen	to get up	🔊 Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf.
🔊 ankommen	to arrive	🔊 Der Zug kommt um 8 an.
🔊 einkaufen	to shop	🔊 Sie kauft im Supermarkt ein.
🔊 fernsehen	to watch TV	🔊 Wir sehen abends fern.
🔊 mitkommen	to come along	🔊 Kommst du mit?

In the past participle, ge- goes between the prefix and stem:

• aufstehen → 🔊 aufgestanden
• einkaufen → 🔊 eingekauft

Common verbs reference

Here are the most frequently used German verbs with their Perfekt forms. Memorise these — they appear in virtually every conversation. Note which ones use "sein" (indicated by "ist") versus "haben" (indicated by "hat"):

German	English	Perfekt
🔊 gehen	to go	🔊 ist gegangen
🔊 kommen	to come	🔊 ist gekommen
🔊 sehen	to see	🔊 hat gesehen
🔊 machen	to make/do	🔊 hat gemacht
🔊 sagen	to say	🔊 hat gesagt
🔊 wissen	to know (fact)	🔊 hat gewusst
🔊 kennen	to know (person/place)	🔊 hat gekannt
🔊 denken	to think	🔊 hat gedacht
🔊 glauben	to believe	🔊 hat geglaubt
🔊 finden	to find	🔊 hat gefunden

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