Transforming verb forms to perfectly convey different tenses, points of view, and moods is like unlocking a secret code. And delving into the German conjugation of verbs is an important step in learning German.
We’ve crafted clear charts and practical examples to make applying German verb conjugation rules a breeze. Discover how to conjugate different types of German verbs effectively.
Table of Contents
The 3 types of German verbs
Memorizing which verbs are considered schwach (weak), stark (strong), and gemischt (mixed) allows you to express more complex ideas accurately when communicating with a fellow German speaker. Look for more examples of common German verbs to expand your vocabulary and master conjugation in German.
Conjugating schwache Verben (weak verbs)
In German conjugation, schwache Verben follow a predictable pattern with consistent stems and regular endings. It’s often best to start learning German conjugation with these verbs, as they require less memorization to conjugate and stick more closely to standard grammatical rules.
- Präsens (present tense): Add -e, -st, -t, en, -t, -en onto the verb stem.
- Präteritum (simple past): Add -te, -test, -te, -ten, -tet, -ten onto the verb stem.
- Perfekt (perfect): Use haben or sein (conjugated) with the past participle (ge- + stem + -t).
- Futur I (future): Use werden (conjugated) with the infinitive.
Here’s an example of how to conjugate a schwache Verb:
Spielen – to play
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum | Perfekt | Futur I |
| ich (I) | spiele | spielte | habe gespielt | werde spielen |
| du (you) | spielst | spieltest | hast gespielt | wirst spielen |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | spielt | spielte | hat gespielt | wird spielen |
| wir (we) | spielen | spielten | haben gespielt | werden spielen |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | spielt | spieltet | habt gespielt | werdet spielen |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | spielen | spielten | haben gespielt | werden spielen |
Conjugating starke Verben (strong verbs)
Starke Verben conjugate in German irregularly. This is often seen as some form of stem change, such as adding an umlaut to a vowel or changing a vowel into another letter entirely. These strong verbs tend to have unique endings during conjugation in German and should be memorized separately to promote accuracy in the expression of more complex messages.
- Präsens (present tense): This often includes vowel changes in the stem.
- Präteritum (simple past): This uses unique vowel changes and follows no regular pattern.
- Perfekt (perfect): Form with haben or sein (conjugated) followed by the past participle (ge- + stem + -en), often with a stem change.
- Futur I (future): Form with werden (conjugated) and the infinitive.
See starke Verben conjugation in action with this example:
Sehen – to see
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum | Perfekt | Futur I |
| ich (I) | sehe | sah | habe gesehen | werde sehen |
| du (you) | siehst | sahst | hast gesehen | wirst sehen |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | sieht | sah | hat gesehen | wird sehen |
| wir (we) | sehen | sahen | haben gesehen | werden sehen |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | seht | saht | habt gesehen | werdet sehen |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | sehen | sahen | haben gesehen | werden sehen |
Conjugating gemischte Verben (mixed verbs)
Finally, gemischte Verben combine the elements of both weak and strong verbs. They will typically portray a stem change, as seen in strong verbs, but also use the same past-tense verb endings used with weak verbs.
- Präsens (present tense): Use the same conjugation rules as with weak verbs, but with some stem changes.
- Präteritum (simple past): Uses irregular stems but weak verb endings.
- Perfekt (perfect): Form with haben + ge- + stem + -t., with stem changes.
- Futur I (future): Form with werden (conjugated) followed by the infinitive.
Use this example of Gemischte Verben conjugation to help you learn:
Denken – to think
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum | Perfekt | Futur I |
| ich (I) | denke | dachte | habe gedacht | werde denken |
| du (you) | denkst | dachtest | hast gedacht | wirst denken |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | denkt | dachte | hat gedacht | wird denken |
| wir (we) | denken | dachten | haben gedacht | werden denken |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | denkt | dachtet | habt gedacht | werdet denken |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | denken | dachten | haben gedacht | werden denken |
German conjugation in the Präsens (present) tense
If you’re ready to discuss your actions in the here and now, dive into German verb conjugation in the Präsens. At the heart of this process are two essential terms: Infinitiv (infinitive) and Stamm (stem). The Infinitiv of a verb is its unaltered base form, which typically ends in -en or -n in German. Examples of an Infinitiv include lernen (to learn) and machen (to do/make).
The Stamm of a verb is derived by removing its Infinitiv ending. For example, the Stamm of the verb lernen is lern- and the Stamm of machen is mach-. To conjugate these verbs in the Präsens tense, take the Stamm of the verb and add the appropriate verb ending based on the subject of the verb.
How pronouns and proper nouns impact German conjugation
Every pronoun has a unique verb ending in German conjugation, as listed in the chart below. If the subject of the conjugated verb is a proper noun, then you use the same verb ending as you would if er/sie/es (he/she/it) replaced that proper noun.
The chart provided below outlines every standard German verb ending for the Präsens (present) tense next to its related pronoun, with examples.
Lernen – to learn
| Pronoun | Verb Ending | Example |
| ich (I) | -e | ich lerne (I learn) |
| du (you) | -st | du lernst (you learn) |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | -t | er lernt (he learns) |
| wir (we) | -en | wir lernen (we learn) |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | -t | ihr lernt (you all learn) |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | -en | Sie lernen (you learn) |
Here’s an example of how to conjugate lernen:
- Take the Stamm of the verb lernen to get lern-.
- Add the -t verb ending you would use with the pronoun “she” in reference to “Julia.”
- Conjugate lernen to lernt.
- Julia lernt Deutsch = Julia is learning German.
Check out our list of over 100+ basic German phrases for more examples of conjugation and to expand your linguistic repertoire.
German conjugation in the past tense
Conjugating German verbs in the past tense involves more complexity, as there are two primary past tenses to consider: the Präteritum (simple past) tense and the Perfekt (present perfect) tense. Präteritum is most often used in written German while Perfekt is used more commonly in spoken German, but both are used to communicate actions or events that have already happened.
Mastering these two past tenses will enhance your German conversations from talking about the sunny weather yesterday to writing a friend about your grandmother’s favorite holiday traditions from her youth.
German conjugation in the Präteritum (simple past) tense
Sentences in the Präteritum tense follow a similar structure to Präsens tense sentences, so you’ll only have to consider how your verb should be conjugated when writing in this tense.
Just like when you conjugate German verbs in the Präsens tense, you first find the Stamm of the verb and then add the appropriate verb ending based on the subject of the sentence. It’s important to know that verb endings in Präteritum are different from verb endings in Präsens. Check out the table below for a full breakdown of each verb ending in this tense along with examples of lernen being conjugated in this tense
Lernen – to learn
| Pronoun | Verb Ending | Example |
| ich (I) | -te | ich lernte (I learned) |
| du (you) | -test | du lerntest (you learned) |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | -te | er lernte (he learned) |
| wir (we) | -ten | wir lernten (we learned) |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | -tet | ihr lerntet (you all learned) |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | -ten | Sie lernten (you learned) |
Below are a few examples of a sentence written in the Präteritum tense with the verbs spielen, machen, and kochen conjugated to fit the tense and subject of the sentence.
- Er spielte Fußball. = He played soccer.
- Wir machten eine Reise. = We went on a trip.
- Du kochtest das Abendessen. = You cooked dinner.
For personalized help with mastering German verb conjugation, consider joining a Rosetta Stone tutoring session, which provides opportunities to gain real-time feedback from a German expert.
German conjugation in the Perfekt (present perfect) tense
Conjugating verbs in the Perfekt tense is vital for discussing past events in everyday conversations. This is especially the case in verbal communication, where this tense is much more likely to be used than Präteritum.
Perfekt changes the structure of the sentence in comparison to Präsens, so this will need to be considered alongside the necessary verb conjugation. By learning these simple rules for writing in the Perfekt tense, you’ll have a much wider basket of linguistic tools from which to communicate in German.
Step 1: Choose haben or sein as the auxiliary verb
The Perfekt tense is formed by using either haben (to have) or sein (to be), followed by the Partizip Perfekt (past participle) of the main verb. The choice of whether to use haben or sein depends entirely on the main verb of the sentence.
- Sein is used with verbs that indicate movement or a change of state, such as fliegen (to fly) or gehen (to go).
- Haben is used with most other verbs like spielen (to play) or lernen (to learn).
- Conjugate either haben or sein with attention to the subject of the verb and the grammatical tense.
This table gives details on exactly how to conjugate haben and sein within the Perfekt tense.
| Pronoun | Haben (to have) | Sein (to be) |
| ich (I) | habe | bin |
| du (you, informal singular) | hast | bist |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | hat | ist |
| wir (we) | haben | sind |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | habt | seid |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | haben | sind |
Step 2: Form the Partizip Perfekt (past participle) of the verb
Once the auxiliary verb (haben or sein) is selected and conjugated, follow it with the Partizip Perfekt (past participle) of the main verb in the sentence. To form the Partizip Perfekt of the majority of German verbs, simply take the Stamm of the verb and add the prefix ge- to the beginning and the suffix -t to the end. Some irregular verbs, which are strong or mixed verbs, will undergo a stem change or won’t use the ge- prefix, so they’ll need to be memorized separately.
Explore the transformation of German verbs with our table of Infinitive (infinitives), their Stämme (stems), and their Partizip Perfekt (past participles) for examples of this verb formation.
| Infinitiv | Stamm | Partizip Perfekt (ge- + stem + -t) |
| fragen (to ask) | frag- | gefragt |
| leben (to live) | leb- | gelebt |
| tanzen (to dance) | tanz- | getanzt |
| hören (to hear) | hör- | gehört |
This past participle is then moved to the end of the clause in your sentence, and your conjugated auxiliary verb will stand in your sentence where your main verb once was in the Präsens.
Examples of Perfekt German conjugation
If you put all of these steps together, this is the formula for conjugating German verbs in Perfekt tense:
haben/sein (conjugated) + past participle at the end of the clause (ge- + verb stem + -t)
- Du hast Deutsch gelernt. = You have learned German.
- Wir sind nach Hamburg gefahren. = We have driven to Hamburg.
- Er hat eine Reise gemacht. = He has been on a journey.
German conjugation in the Futur (future) tense
Speaking about your upcoming date, aspirations for your future job, or how the weather will be this coming weekend all require mastery of the Futur (future) tense. In German, the Futur tense is formed using the auxiliary verb werden (will), which is conjugated depending on the subject of the main verb. That’s followed by the Infinitiv of the main verb, which is moved to the end of the clause.
So, the formula for conjugating Futur tense verbs is:
werden (conjugated) + Infinitiv (infinitive)
Since werden is the only verb conjugated in the Futur tense, you will only need to remember how to conjugate this auxiliary verb to speak about future events. View the table below for a breakdown of how werden is conjugated with each pronoun.
| Pronoun | Werden (will) |
| ich (I) | werde |
| du (you) | wirst |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | wird |
| wir (we) | werden |
| ihr (you, informal plural) | werdet |
| sie/Sie (they/you, formal) | werden |
Here are some sentence examples of how to conjugate German verbs in the Futur tense:
- Du wirst Deutsch lernen. = You will learn German.
- Sie werden das Buch finden. = They will find the book.
- Er wird Berlin besuchen. = He will visit Berlin.
Key takeaways for German conjugation
While German verb conjugation shares some common ground with English, mastering German means diving into its unique quirks that make the language so fascinating.
Here are some key points to keep in mind about German verb conjugation:
- German conjugation uses unique rules for verbs in Präsens (present), Präteritum (simple past), Perfekt (present perfect), and Futur (future) tenses.
- German verbs are conjugated according to their subject (point of view/pronoun).
- Schwache (weak), starke (strong), and gemischte (mixed) verbs each follow distinct conjugation guidelines.
- Find the Infinitiv (infinitive) and Stamm (stem) of a German verb to conjugate it accurately.
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