 KONJUGATION

Verb conjugation is the process of changing a verb to indicate the person, gender, tense, number,
or aspect of a sentence.

In English, we can use verb conjugation to specify who is performing an action. For example:

 I am
 You are
 He/she/it is

These verbs are all forms of the verb ‘to be’.

German also conjugates verbs in this way. For example, you’ve probably already seen:

 ich bin
 du bist
 er/sie/es ist

These are conjugated forms of the German verb sein (to be).

Both English and German have regular as well as irregular verbs.

 Regular verbs are conjugated according to regular patterns

 Irregular verbs usually change their vowels or ‘stem’ when conjugated

Although they follow unique rules, many irregular German verbs follow patterns similar to
English.
Verb Tenses In German

In German, there is only one present tense, which already simplifies the process of conjugating
verbs.
1. Start With Regular Verbs In The Present Tense
There are three basic types of regular, or weak, verbs in German:
- verbs with an -en ending
- verbs with an -el or -er ending
- verbs with a -ten ending

 Verbs Ending With -en

All regular verbs with an -en ending follow the same conjugation patterns. Below, you can
see the patterns that can be applied to all verbs of this type.
(Note: These are the conjugation rules for the present tense. We’ll get to the other tenses later
on.)
lernen (to learn) [Present Tense]
ich lerne – I learn
du lernst – you (informal) learn
er/sie/es lernt – he/she/it learns
Wir lernen – we learn
ihr lernt – you (plural/informal) learn
Sie/sie lernen – they learn

TO LEARN (LERNEN)
I learn Ich lerne
You learn Du lernst
(informal)
You learn Ihr lernt
(plural/informal)
He/She/It learns Er/Sie/Es lernt
We learn Wir lernen
They learn Sie lernen
  Verbs Ending With -el or -er
These verbs are treated almost exactly the same as first type, however, they use an -n ending
instead of an -en ending for the ‘we’ and ‘they’ forms.
handeln (to negotiate) [Present Tense]
ich handle or ich handele – I negotiate
du handelst – you (informal) negotiate
er/sie/es handelt – he/she/it negotiate
Wir handeln – we negotiate
ihr handelt – you (plural/informal) negotiate
Sie/sie handeln – they negotiate
 Verbs Ending With -ten
The same rules apply to regular verbs ending in -ten but with an additional ‘e’ added in to
help ease pronunciation for some of the forms.
Arbeiten (to work) [Present Tense]
ich arbeite – I work
du arbeitest – you (informal) work
er/sie/es arbeitet – he/she/it work
Wir arbeiten – we work
ihr arbeitet – you (plural/informal) work
Sie/sie arbeiten – they work

2. Memorise The Most Common Irregular German Verbs

Irregular verbs often change their the vowels in their stem when conjugated. These
usually change in the following ways:

e → ie
e→i
a→ä

We’re going to take a look at the most common irregular verbs, sein (to be), haben (to
have), and werden (to become, shall, will). The present tense conjugations of these verbs
are listed below.
 Sein (to be) [Present Tense]
ich bin – I am
du bist – you (informal) are
er/sie/es ist – he/she/it is
Wir sind – we are
ihr seid – you (plural/informal) are
Sie/sie sind – they are

Haben (to have) [Present Tense]

ich habe – I have
du hast – you (informal) have
er/sie/es hat – he/she/it has
Wir haben – we have
ihr habt – you (plural/informal) have
Sie/sie haben – they have

Another important irregular German verb is werden (to become, shall, will). This is
perhaps one of the most common words in German and can mean ‘to become’, as in, Ich
werde krank (I’m becoming ill),or ‘will’ or ‘shall’ as in wir werden sehen (We will see).

Werden (to become, shall, will) [Present Tense]

ich werde – I become
du wirst – you (informal) become
er/sie/es wird – he/she/it become
Wir werden – we become
ihr werdet – you (plural/informal) become
Sie/sie werden – they become

Even though these verbs are irregular, we can see similarities in how they are conjugated.

For example:

- most verbs have an -e ending after ich (I)

- to conjugate words for du (you), we usually use an -st ending
- Wir and Sie/sie always take -en endings

As an example, let’s say you want to express yourself in the past. You can either use
simple past tense, or past perfect tense. As an example, let’s examine what happens to the
verb sein (to be) in both of these past tenses.
 Sein (to be) [Past Simple Tense]
ich war – I was
du warst – you (informal) were
er/sie/es war – he/she/it was
Wir waren – we were
ihr wart – you (plural/informal) were
Sie/sie waren – they were

TO BE (SEIN)
I was Ich war
You were Du warst
(informal)
You were Ihr wart
(plural/informal)
He/She/It was Er/Sie/Es war
We were Wir waren
They were Sie waren

Sein (to be) [Past Perfect Tense]

ich bin gewesen – I have been
du bist gewesen – you (informal) have been
er/sie/es ist gewesen – he/she/it has been
Wir sind gewesen – we have been
ihr seid gewesen – you (plural/informal) have been
Sie/sie sind gewesen – they have been

TO BE (SEIN)
I have been Ich bin gewesen
You have been Du bist gewesen
(informal)
You have been Ihr seid gewesen
(plural/informal)
He/She/It has been Er/Sie/Es ist gewesen
We have been Wir sind gewesen
They have been Sie sind gewesen