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Learn to Speak German Online:
German Grammar Guidebook

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Present Tense Conjugation

Verbs
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In German, different subjects take different verb endings, similar to the alternation in English between I do and he does. The base form in the dictionary, or infinitive, is the starting point. The verb stem is the infinitive minus -en. Add these endings to the stem:
 

I ich -e
you (sing) Sie -en
he er -t
she sie -t
it es -t
"people" are man -t
we wir -en
you (plural) Sie -en
they sie -en

ENDINGS SUMMARY

  • Ich takes the ending -e.
  • Er, sie (she), es and man take -t.
  • The other forms are the same as the infinitive.

Infinitive form: bleiben "to stay"
 

I am staying ich bleibe
you are staying Sie bleiben
he is staying er bleibt
she is staying sie bleibt
it is staying es bleibt
Generic: people are staying man bleibt
we are staying wir bleiben
you are staying Sie bleiben
they are staying sie bleiben

If a verb has a stem ending in d- or t- , use the ending -et, not -t:
 

it costs es kostet
he finds er findet

The third person singular of the German verb haben is hat. The other present tense forms are regular.

VOWEL CHANGING VERBS

Some verbs alter their vowels when the subject is er, sie, es, or man. This is similar to the alternation between English I cry and he cries. Here are the vowel changing verbs we have had:
 

Infinitive Vowel Change
fahren* er, sie, es, man fährt
  e, she, it drives, "people" drive
laufen er, sie, es, man läuft
  e, she, it walks, "people" walk
geben er, sie, es, man gibt
  e, she, it gives, "people" give
nehmen er, sie, es, man nimmt
  e, she, it takes, "people" take
sehen er, sie, es, man sieht
  e, she, it sees, "people" see
sprechen er, sie, es, man spricht
  e, she, it sees, "people" speak
halten er, sie, es, man hält
  e, she, it holds, "people" hold
essen er, sie, es, man isst
  e, she, it eats, "people" eat

*With respect to vowel changing, compound verbs such as abfahren work like the simple verb from which they are derived, i.e. fahren: abfahren, er fährt…ab.

Vowel change verbs are indicated in the glossary as follows: essen (isst) : to eat.
 



Examples of Present Tense Conjugation

  • Hier spricht Michael Smith. Bitte verbinden Sie mich mit Frau Hübner.