In the previous blog post, we explored how different verb types are conjugated in the present tense under the influence of various personal pronouns. Now, we will delve deeper into the effects of different tenses and moods on verb conjugation. If you find this topic confusing, join us in learning more about it!
Verb Conjugation in Different Tenses
Similar to English, German also includes a wide range of tenses to construct temporal relationships, making the temporal information conveyed by the language more precise. The diversity of tenses leads to different characteristics in verb conjugation, which in turn reflects the temporal status of language expression.
Present Tense
The present tense is used to describe actions that are currently happening or habitual actions. In German, the present tense conjugation of verbs depends on the subject pronouns and the verb classification (weak, strong, or mixed).
When conjugating weak verbs or mixed verbs in the present tense, we need to use inflectional suffixes (-e, -st, -t, -en) to replace the original verb endings (en/eln/ern). However, for strong verbs in the present tense, under the influence of the second person singular pronoun “du” and the third person singular pronoun, the vowel in the original verb stem undergoes a change and the corresponding inflectional suffix (-st, -t) is added. Under the influence of other personal pronouns, the conjugation of strong verbs is the same as that of weak verbs and mixed verbs. Take the weak verb “machen” (to do), the mixed verb “denken” (to think), and the strong verb “fahren” (to travel) as examples below:
| Subject Pronoun | “machen” (to do) | “denken” (to think) | “fahren” (to travel) |
| ich (I) | mache | denke | fahre |
| du (you- informal) | machst | denkst | fährst |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | macht | denkt | fährt |
| wir (we) | machen | denken | fahren |
| ihr (you- plural) | macht | denkt | fahrt |
| sie (they) | machen | denken | fahren |
| Sie (you- formal) | machen | denken | fahren |
Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense in German is used to describe actions or events that occurred in the past and are completed. For weak verbs, the simple past tense forms by swapping out their original endings with suffixes: -te, -test, -te, -ten, -tet, -ten. As for mixed verbs, the conjugation in the simple past tense is reflected in both the vowel changes in the verb stem and the replacement of the original endings with inflectional suffixes. For strong verbs, the verb stem undergoes significant changes in the simple past tense, but the inflectional suffixes used for replacement correspond to those found in some present tense conjugations (-st, -t, -en). The table below illustrates the conjugation of the weak verb “machen” (to do), the mixed verb “denken” (to think), and the strong verb “fahren” (to travel) in the simple past tense.
| Subject Pronoun | “machen” (to do) | “denken” (to think) | “fahren” (to travel) |
| ich (I) | machte | dachte | fuhr |
| du (you- informal) | machtest | dachtest | fuhrst |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | machte | dachte | fuhr |
| wir (we) | machten | dachten | fuhren |
| ihr (you- plural) | machtet | dachtet | fuhrt |
| sie (they) | machten | dachten | fuhren |
| Sie (you- formal) | machten | dachten | fuhren |
Perfect Tense
The perfect tense in German is formed using a combination of the auxiliary verb “haben” (to have) or “sein” (to be) and the past participle of the main verb. The perfect tense is used to indicate actions or events that have occurred in the past. Unlike English, spoken German generally prefers to use the present perfect tense to express past actions instead of the simple past tense. Let’s first take a look at the conjugation of “haben” and “sein”.
| Subject Pronoun | “haben” (to have) | “sein” (to be) |
| ich (I) | habe | bin |
| du (you- informal) | hast | bist |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | hat | ist |
| wir (we) | haben | sind |
| ihr (you- plural) | habt | seid |
| sie (they) | haben | sind |
| Sie (you- formal) | haben | sind |
For the main verbs, we need to differentiate between different types of verbs to complete the conjugation. Weak verbs generally add [ge] as a prefix and replace the ending with [t]. Mixed verbs undergo stem changes first (vowel replacement), then add the [ge] prefix and remove the ending, replacing it with [t]. The past participle of strong verbs has uncertain stem changes: sometimes the stem changes, sometimes it does not, butthe [ge] prefix and [en] suffix are always added. The table below shows the conjugation of “machen” (to do), “denken” (to think) and “fahren” (to travel), and stong verb “schließen” (to close) in the perfect tense.
| “machen” | “denken” | “fahren” | “schließen” | |
| past participle | gemacht | gedacht | gefahren | geschlossen |
Future Tense
The future tense in German is formed using the auxiliary verb “werden” (to become) followed by the infinitive form of the main verb. It is used to express actions or events that will occur in the future. The table below shows the conjugation of “werden” (to become) in the present tense.
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation of “werden” (to become) |
| ich (I) | werde |
| du (you- informal) | wirst |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | wird |
| wir (we) | werden |
| ihr (you- plural) | werdet |
| sie (they) | werden |
| Sie (you- formal) | werden |
Verb Conjugation in Different Moods
In German, the mood of a verb indicates the attitude of the speaker towards the action. There are three primary moods in German: indicative, imperative and subjunctive. Each mood has its specific uses and conjugation rules. Understanding these moods helps us convey different nuances in our communication.
Indicative Mood
The indicative mood in German is used to express statements, facts, or questions. In this blog post, we delved into the intricacies of indicative mood conjugation, which serves as a foundation for understanding the more nuanced moods. Now, let’s shift our focus to these other moods.
Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is used for giving commands or making requests. It directly addresses the listener and tells them what to do. The imperative mood in German mainly involves the second person singular (informal and formal), the second person plural, and the first person plural.
In the imperative mood of the second person singular (du), verbs retain only their stems. Some verbs require the addition of ‘-e’ while removing the endings, such as those ending in ‘-ig’, ‘-t’, or ‘-d’, or stems ending in an obstruent consonant plus a nasal consonant ( more information about obstruent consonant and nasal consonant). Examples include stems ending in -fn or -gn. Let’s see an example:
e.g. Mach(e) deine Hausaufgabe! — Do your homework!
This is the conjugation of ‘machen’ (to do) in the imperative mood for the second person singular.
However, for the second person singular formal, second person plural and first person plural, the imperative mood conjugation of verbs remains the same as the present tense.
e.g. Kinder, öffnet (“ihr” is omitted) das Fenster. – Children, open the window.
e.g. Bitte setzen Sie (retained) sich. – Please have a seat.
e.g. Spielen wir (retained) jetzt Basketball! – Let’s play basketball right now!
Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood is used to express hypotheticals, wishes, indirect speech, and polite requests. There are two forms of the subjunctive mood in German: Subjunctive I and Subjunctive II.
Subjunctive I is used primarily for indirect speech to report what someone said, asked, or commanded. The conjugation rules of Subjunctive I is adding specific endings to the verb stem. According to the different pronouns, there are 4 endings: -e (ich , er/sie/es), -est (du), -en (Wir/ Sie/ sie), et (ihr). We’ll take “lesen“ (to read) as an example to observe the conjugation of verbs in Subjunctive I.
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation of “lesen” (to read) |
| ich (I) | lese |
| du (you- informal) | lesest |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | lese |
| wir (we) | lesen |
| ihr (you- plural) | leset |
| sie (they) | lesen |
| Sie (you- formal) | lesen |
Subjunctive II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes, or polite requests. Strong verbs build upon their past tense conjugation by adding subjunctive mood endings (as explained in the previous section). The following table illustrates the past tense conjugation and second subjunctive mood conjugation of the verb “fahren” (to travel).
| Subject Pronoun | Simple Past Tense | Subjunctive II |
| ich (I) | fuhr | führe |
| du (you- informal) | fuhrst | führest |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | fuhr | führe |
| wir (we) | fuhren | führen |
| ihr (you- plural) | fuhrt | führet |
| sie (they) | fuhren | führen |
| Sie (you- formal) | fuhren | führen |
Mixed verbs, building upon their past tense conjugation, require replacing the stem vowels “a, o, u“ with variable vowels “ä, ö, ü”. The table below illustrates the past tense conjugation and second subjunctive mood conjugation of the mixed verb “bringen” (to bring).
| Subject Pronoun | Simple Past Tense | Subjunctive II |
| ich (I) | brachte | brächte |
| du (you- informal) | brachtest | brächtest |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | brachte | brächte |
| wir (we) | brachten | brächten |
| ihr (you- plural) | brachtet | brächtet |
| sie (they) | brachten | brächten |
| Sie (you- formal) | brachten | brächten |
The conjugation of weak verbs in the second subjunctive mood is identical to their past tense conjugation. The table below illustrates the conjugation of the past tense and the second subjunctive mood of the verb “machen“ (to do).
| Subject Pronoun | Simple Past Tense | Subjunctive II |
| ich (I) | machte | machte |
| du (you- informal) | machtest | machtest |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | machte | machte |
| wir (we) | machten | machten |
| ihr (you- plural) | machtet | machtet |
| sie (they) | machten | machten |
| Sie (you- formal) | machten | machten |
Practice Resources and Reference Tools
We’ve covered German verb conjugation so far. It’s time to practice and explore further resources. Here are some valuable tools that may help you to enhance your skills:
Verb Conjugation Exploration:
- Conjugation of the verb fahren in all German tenses: A comprehensive database about verb conjugation
Verb Practice:
- German verbs & conjugation – online exercises: Interactive exercises for verb practice tailored to different skill levels
- Verb conjugation drills: Customizable exercises to improve your vocabulary and conjugation skills with customizable exercises.
- Advanced German Verbs Flashcards | Quizlet : The Advanced German verbs knowledge tests with flashcards and quizzes
- German Verbs: The additional resources on platforms like Conjuguemos for varied practice activities.
Common German Verbs:
- Top 100 German verbs: The list of the most frequently used German verbs for you to build a strong German foundation
Of course, our FluenDay App also offers Structured German Courses, so you can practice German with those bite-sized lessons whenever you have free time!
Besides your own efforts, these resources will help you to greatly enhance your verb conjugation skills and progress in your German learning journey!
Leave your comments