The Ultimate German Verb Conjugation Chart:

Rules for German verb conjugation

German verb classes

German verbs fall into two main classes:

• Regular verbs, sometimes referred to as “weak” verbs, follow accepted conjugation conventions.
• Often referred to as “strong” verbs, irregular verbs have their own unique paths and don’t conform to any predetermined rules or formulae.
• Mixed verbs are a third class of German verbs that you may occasionally encounter. These verbs are mostly regular, but occasionally they take a different form. For example: The present tense of informieren (to inform) is regular, whereas the past tense is unusual.

How to conjugate verbs in German

To determine the appropriate conjugation pattern, ask yourself:

• Is the verb mixed, irregular, or regular?
• Who is the subject of the action?
• When is the tense activity taking place?

Subject of the verb

You must consider the subject (the person performing the action) in addition to the verb’s class (regular, irregular, or mixed) and time period.

One of these pronouns will correspond with the subject:

• ich (I)
• du (you [singular informal])
• er (he) / sie (she) / es (it)
• wir (we)
• ihr (you [plural informal])
• sie (they) / Sie (you [singular or plural formal)]

As you look at more German conjugations, you’ll start to see helpful patterns that make learning the conjugations easier.

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The German verb conjugation process: The basics

While verb conjugation in German can be done in a variety of ways, the procedure is nearly always the same, especially for common verbs.

The present and past tenses of normal German verb conjugation can be achieved in three simple steps:

1. The infinitive of the verb comes first. According to the dictionary, this is the form. For instance, if you search for the German verb meaning “to play,” you will get the infinitive,spielen.

2. The stem can be found by dropping the infinitive’s ending. The suffixes -en, -eln, or -ern will be used for standard German verb infinitives.

Spiel- would be the verb stem for the ordinary -en verb spielen (to play).

However, the procedure is slightly different for verbs ending in -eln and -ern: You will only remove the final -n for those verbs. Thus, segel- would be the verb stem for segeln (to sail). In the context of hiking, it would be wander-.

3. For the proper subject and tense, add the verb ending. You can determine which ending to use after the verb stem by considering who is performing the activity and when it is occurring.

For instance, you would use the ich (I) form in the present tense to say “Ich arbeite” if you wanted to say “I work” in German. The past tense form of the verb “wir” (we) would be used to express “Wir arbeiteten” if you wished to say “We worked.”

For irregular and mixed verbs, the conjugation procedure is somewhat more dependent on memorization. These verbs must be memorized by rote; their stems may not resemble their infinitives at all.

Certain verbs are “stem-changing,” which means that the subject or verb tense may cause the stem to change. For example, the verb stem’s vowel may shift to a whole other vowel or add an umlaut. (A few instances of stem-changing verbs will be examined below.)

German verb tenses and conjugations

Let’s begin with the present tense since there is no better moment than the present. After that, we’ll take a little trip back in time and then return to the present (tense).

German conjugation rules in the present tense

The most common tense in German is the Präsens (present) tense. It can be used to discuss the immediate future as well as the present, just like English.

Because there is just one verb used, the German present tense is regarded as simple.

Present-tense verbs, particularly the regular ones, exhibit a few recurrent patterns. In general, the ich form ends in -e, the du form with -st, and the er/sie/es and ihr forms with a -t. The verb’s infinitive and thewir/sie/Sie forms are frequently the same.

Regular -en verbs: machen (to make, to do) 

Regular -eln verbs: klingeln (to ring)

There is a small peculiarity with these -eln verbs: There is a different conjugation for ich in the present tense. It is made by removing the -el from the stem and substituting it with -le.

Let’s see how this functions with the word klingeln, which means to ring, like a phone or a bell.

Regular -ern verbs: klettern (to climb)

Similar to the conjugation for -eln verbs, the present-tense stem of -ern infinitives is obtained by removing the ending -n.

The verbs füttern (to feed), bewundern (to adore), lagern (to store), and zwinkern (to wink) are additional -ern verbs.

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How to conjugate irregular verbs in German in the present tense

Numerous German verbs are irregular. Start with the list below, which includes six of the most popular and practical ones:

• sein (to be)
• haben (to have)
• essen (to eat)
• werden (to become, to turn into)
• wollen (to want)
• können (to be able)

Werden is especially significant since the German future tense is formed by combining its present tense with another verb. For instance: “Ich werde zum Profi in deutscher Grammatik” (I am becoming an expert in present tense German grammar). Additionally, I shall “üben deutsche Grammatik” (practice German grammar).

These powerful (irregular) German verbs have their own unique patterns, despite the fact that you may see some similarities to regular verbs. (Here, among other peculiarities, you’ll find the stem-changing verbs I discussed previously.)

Let’s examine each of these verbs’ distinct present-tense German conjugations.

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Sein (to be)

Sein (to be) has a unique conjugation for every subject in the present tense. The conjugations for wir and sie/Sie are identical, however there is no consistent stem.

Essen (to eat)

Examples of stem-changing verbs include wollen (to want) and essential (to eat).

Essen causes the stem in the du and er/sie/es forms to shift (from ess- to iss-). For the ich, du, and er/sie/es forms, the stem is will-; for the wir, ihr, and sie/Sie forms, it is woll-.

In the present tense, können (to be able) undergoes three stem alterations, changing from kann- to konn- to könn-.

Wollen (to want)

Können (to be able)

Haben (to have)

Werden (to become; [helping verb, used for future tense])

Mixed verbs: bringen (to bring)

The present tense of bringen (to bring), which, like other common mixed German verbs like denken (to think), kennen (to be familiar with), and wissen (to know a fact), follows the regular -en verb pattern we covered above, is an example of a mixed verb that can act regularly at times and not so much at others.

Fairly regular, right? Keep an eye out to see what happens with these mixed verbs in other tenses, though.

For example, in the past tense, bringen uses a totally different verb stem — brach- — instead of using bring- (like it does in the present tense). With regular verbs, such as machen, klingeln, and klettern, the verb stem essentially stays the same throughout all the tenses.

The past tense of German verbs

Because it only uses one verb, the German simple past tense is called the Präteritum.

Take note of the T at the beginning of each past-tense ending for the ordinary verbs. Additionally, the ich and er/sie/es forms, as well as the wir and Sie forms, mirror one another in this tense.

Some of these same patterns may apply to irregular verbs as well, such as the mirrored conjugations of wir and sie. The verb stems and their infinitive forms, however, might differ greatly.

Once more, let’s begin with the normal verbs before looking at some irregular and mixed verbs’ past tense conjugations.

Regular -en verbs: machen (to make, to do)

Regular -eln verbs: klingeln (to ring)

Regular -ern verbs: klettern (to climb) 

Irregular German verbs in the past tense

The past-tense verb stems of irregular verbs (and some mixed verbs) can differ significantly from their infinitives.

Even while the past-tense verb stem doesn’t resemble the verb’s infinitive, some verbs, like sein (to be), do, in fact, have a more regular stem in the past tense than in the present!

Sein (to be)

Essen (to eat)

Wollen (to want)

Können (to be able)

Haben (to have)

Werden (to become)

Mixed verbs: bringen (to bring)

Observe how the present-tense stem of bringen, bring-, differs greatly from its past-tense stem, brach-. Similar alterations can be observed in mixed verbs such as denken, which takes the past tense stem dach-, and kennen, which takes the past tense stem kann-.

However, the past tense endings of mixed verbs, such as bringen, might resemble the past tense of normal verbs in some ways.

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Rules for german verb conjugation in the future

The future has arrived! Furthermore, it can be far simpler than the past and present tenses, despite not being a “simple” tense in the strict sense of the word.

Why? Because the present tense of werden and the infinitive of the verb you wish to use in the future tense are all you need to know for the German future tense.

This is true for mixed verbs, irregular verbs, and regular verbs. Similar to “will” in the English future tense, werden is used in the German future tense (for example, “I’ll learn how to conjugate verbs in German!”).

Let’s examine how various verbs are conjugated in the future:

Regular -en verbs: machen (to make, to do)

Irregular verb: sein (to be)

Mixed verb: bringen (to bring)

As you can see, the only thing that changes from verb to verb in the German future is the infinitive you use after the present tense of werden.

Tips for Mastering German Verb Conjugation 

• Seek out conjugations that are paralleled.

Take note of the personal pronouns that conjugate the same way for a given verb, such as ich, du, etc.

• Look for worldwide trends

Look for commonalities in the majority of verb conjugations; irregular verbs are frequently an exception.

• Write and recite conjugations of German verbs.

Writing down German verb conjugations by hand and saying them out loud may seem tiresome, but it will help you remember them.

Writing by hand facilitates memorization, while speaking the conjugations out loud (i.e., hearing them as well as speaking) activates different brain regions than writing. Set aside at least 30 minutes every week to practice this method.

• Learn to read and write in German on a daily basis.

Every day, set aside some time to read or listen to a little German, such as an online Zeitung (newspaper) or one of the best German podcasts. Take particular note of how the verbs you read and hear are conjugated.

In addition to teaching you how to properly conjugate German verbs, this habit will teach you how to apply them in context.

• Learn the laws of German verb conjugation by writing and speaking.

Speaking and writing in German are both good ways to become familiar with German verb conjugations, even if you start with basic German words and phrases for beginners.

You’ll begin to notice how effortlessly the German conjugations flow to you if you dedicate a few minutes each day to these exercises. Additionally, use a range of verbs while asking inquiries in German talks.

You will soon recall the conjugation of the more common verbs just by using them frequently; you won’t even need to think about it.

• Consult a fluent speaker for comments.

Work with a native or fluent German speaker to ensure you’re following the rules of German verb conjugation.

• Use language-learning programs such as Babbel or Duolingo.

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Conclusion

In German, verbs are crucial vocabulary. Start with this tutorial, practice learning German online regularly with Entri App, and as soon as you can, try to use conjugations in discussions and real-world contexts.

By doing this, you’ll begin to employ German verbs with assurance, which is a crucial step on the path to fluency.