Präsens: Regular Verb Conjugation
In German, the present tense (Präsens) expresses both 'happening now' and 'happening in general / in the future' — there is no separate continuous tense with '-ing' as in English. This actually makes things easier for you: by learning just one tense form, you can talk about your habits, what you are doing right now, and your plans for the near future.
With regular (regelmäßig) verbs, the ending '-en' is removed from the infinitive, and endings are added to the remaining stem (Stamm) depending on the person: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en. Example verb: 'lernen' (to learn), stem: 'lern-'. These six endings apply to almost all regular verbs in German, so when you learn a new verb, all you need to do is find its stem and add these endings.
One point to watch out for: the 'du' and 'ihr' forms look very similar (-st / -t) but refer to different persons — 'du' is the informal address to one person, while 'ihr' is the informal address to more than one person. Also, the 'wir' and 'sie/Sie' forms are always identical to the infinitive (lernen), which makes them easy to remember: if the subject is 'wir', 'sie' (they), or 'Sie' (formal you), you use the verb in its infinitive form without changing it at all.
lernen (to learn) conjugation
| Pronoun | lernen |
|---|---|
| ich | lerneI learn |
| du | lernstyou learn |
| er/sie/es | lernthe/she/it learns |
| wir | lernenwe learn |
| ihr | lerntyou learn |
| sie/Sie | lernenthey learn (formal you: you learn) |
Example conjugations: machen, wohnen, spielen
| Pronoun | machen | wohnen | spielen |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | macheI do | wohneI live | spieleI play |
| du | machstyou do | wohnstyou live | spielstyou play |
| er/sie/es | machthe/she/it does | wohnthe/she/it lives | spielthe/she/it plays |
| wir | machenwe are doing | wohnenwe live | spielenwe are playing |
| ihr | machtyou are doing | wohntyou live | spieltyou are playing |
| sie/Sie | machenthey are doing | wohnenthey live | spielenthey are playing (formal you: are doing/live/are playing) |
Verbs ending in -t/-d: arbeiten, warten (an -e- is inserted)
| Pronoun | arbeiten | warten |
|---|---|---|
| ich | arbeiteI am working | warteI am waiting |
| du | arbeitestyou are working | wartestyou are waiting |
| er/sie/es | arbeitethe/she/it is working | wartethe/she/it is waiting |
| wir | arbeitenwe are working | wartenwe are waiting |
| ihr | arbeitetyou are working | wartetyou are waiting |
| sie/Sie | arbeitenthey are working | wartenthey are waiting (formal you: are working/waiting) |
Verbs ending in -s/-z: reisen, tanzen (du: only -t)
| Pronoun | reisen | tanzen |
|---|---|---|
| ich | reiseI travel | tanzeI dance |
| du | reistyou travel | tanztyou dance |
| er/sie/es | reisthe/she/it travels | tanzthe/she/it dances |
| wir | reisenwe travel | tanzenwe dance |
| ihr | reistyou travel | tanztyou dance |
| sie/Sie | reisenthey travel | tanzenthey dance (formal you: travel/dance) |
List of frequently used regular verbs
| Infinitive | Meaning | du | er/sie/es |
|---|---|---|---|
| machen | to do, to make | machst | macht |
| spielen | to play | spielst | spielt |
| wohnen | to live/reside | wohnst | wohnt |
| arbeiten | to work | arbeitest | arbeitet |
| kaufen | to buy | kaufst | kauft |
| kochen | to cook | kochst | kocht |
| hören | to hear / to listen | hörst | hört |
| sagen | to say | sagst | sagt |
| fragen | to ask | fragst | fragt |
| einkaufen | to shop / to go shopping | kaufst ein | kauft ein |
| suchen | to look for; to call | suchst | sucht |
| zeigen | to show | zeigst | zeigt |
| brauchen | to need | brauchst | braucht |
| glauben | to believe | glaubst | glaubt |
| warten | to wait | wartest | wartet |
| kosten | to cost | kostest | kostet |
| reisen | to travel | reist | reist |
| tanzen | to dance | tanzt | tanzt |
| putzen | to clean | putzt | putzt |
| öffnen | to open | öffnest | öffnet |
EXAMPLES
Ich lerne Deutsch.
I am learning German.
Du wohnst in Berlin.
You live in Berlin.
Wir arbeiten jeden Tag.
We work every day.
Exam tip
- • For verbs whose stem ends in -t or -d (e.g. arbeiten), an extra 'e' is added in the 'du', 'er/sie/es', and 'ihr' forms for easier pronunciation: du arbeitest, er arbeitet, ihr arbeitet.
SHORT TEST
1. 'Du ___ (wohnen) in Köln.' correct conjugation?
2. 'Wir ___ (arbeiten) jeden Tag.' correct conjugation?
3. 'Er ___ (arbeiten) in einer Firma.' (pay attention to the extra 'e' rule)
4. 'Ich ___ (spielen) gern Fußball.' correct conjugation?
5. 'Ihr ___ (lernen) sehr fleißig.' correct conjugation?
6. 'Sie (she) ___ (kochen) sehr gut.' correct conjugation?