Starke Verben - Strong Verbs - A-F INFINITIV AAA anfangen begin ankommen arrive anrufen call up BBB backen

bake befehlen command beginnen begin beien bite bekommen get, receive bergen salvage bersten burst betrgen deceive biegen bend bieten offer binden tie bitten request blasen blow strong verbs. bleiben stay bleichen bleach braten roast brechen break brennen* burn bringen* bring blieb stayed blich bleached briet roasted brach broke brannte burned brachte brought ist geblieben stayed geblichen bleached gebraten roasted gebrochen broken gebrannt burned gebracht brought backte baked befahl commanded begann began biss bit bekam got barg salvaged barst burst betrog deceived bog bent bot offered band tied bat requested blies blew gebacken baked befohlen commanded begonnen begun gebissen bitten bekommen gotten geborgen salvaged geborsten burst betrogen deceived gebogen bent geboten offered gebunden tied gebeten requested geblasen blown fing an began kam an arrived rief an called up angefangen begun ist angekommen arrived angerufen called up PRTERITUM (Preterite) PERFEKT (Past Participle)

See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-ie-a, a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German

*Both brennen and bringen are "mixed" verbs, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. DDD denken* think dachte thought gedacht thought

*The verb denken is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. dreschen thresh dringen force drfen may drosch threshed drang forced durfte was allowed gedroschen threshed gedrungen forced gedurft* been allowed

*Used with an infinitive, as for all modals, the past participle is the infinitive drfen: "Wir haben nicht gehen drfen." EEE

empfangen receive erfinden invent erlschen extinguish

empfing received

empfangen received empfohlen recommended erfunden invented erloschen extinguished erschollen sounded erschrocken scared

empfehlen recommend empfahl recommended erfand invented erlosch extinguished

erschallen echo, sound erscholl sounded erschrecken* scare erschrak scared

*This verb has both strong (passive) and weak (active) forms: "Ich habe ihn erschreckt." (I scared him.) and "Ich erschrak bei der Explosion." (I was startled/scared by the explosion.) essen eat FFF fahren travel fallen fall fangen catch fechten fence finden find fliegen fly fliehen flee flieen flow fressen gorge frieren freeze fuhr traveled fiel fell fing caught focht fenced fand found flog flew floh fled floss flowed fra gorged fror froze ist gefahren traveled ist gefallen fallen gefangen caught gefochten fenced gefunden found ist geflogen flown ist geflohen fled ist geflossen flowed gefressen gorged gefroren* frozen a ate gegessen eaten

*The verb frieren takes the helping verb haben or sein, depending on its meaning. In most cases ("to be cold") it is "hat gefroren," but in the meaning of "to freeze, turn into ice," it is "Der Boden / Das Wasser ist steif gefroren." (The ground / water has frozen solid.) frohlocken rejoice frohlockte rejoiced frohlockt rejoiced

Starke Verben - Strong Verbs - G-M INFINITIV G gren ferment gebren bear (child) geben give gedeihen flourish gefallen be pleasing, like gehen go gelingen succeed gelten be valid genesen recover genieen enjoy geschehen happen gewinnen win gor fermented gebar bore gab gave gedieh flourished gefiel liked ging went gelang succeeded galt was valid genas recovered geno enjoyed geschah happened gewann won gegoren fermented geboren born gegeben given ist gediehen flourished gefallen liked ist gegangen gone ist gelungen succeeded gegolten been valid genesen recovered genossen enjoyed ist geschehen happened gewonnen won PRTERITUM (Preterite) PERFEKT (Past Participle)

gieen pour gleichen resemble gleiten glide, slide glimmen glow, smoulder

go poured glich resembled glitt glided glomm* glowed

gegossen poured geglichen resembled ist geglitten glided ist geglommen* glowed

*Also glimmte and hat geglimmt (weak) graben dig greifen grasp H haben have Beginners. halten hold hngen hang hielt held hing hung/hanged* gehalten held gehangen hung/hanged* hatte had gehabt had For the complete conjugation of the verb haben in the present tense, see Lesson 4 of German for grub dug griff grasped gegraben dug gegriffen grasped

*The verb hngen is weak in transitive situations ("Er hngte das Bild an die Wand.") and strong in intransitive situations ("Das Bild hing an der Wand."). hauen hew, hit haute* hit gehauen hit

*The strong past form hieb is used when the meaning is "struck (him) with a weapon." heben lift heien be called helfen help verbs. K kennen* know kannte knew gekannt known hob lifted hie named half helped gehoben lifted geheien named geholfen helped

See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong

*The verb kennen is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. klingen ring kneifen pinch kommen come knnen can klang rang kniff pinched kam came konnte could geklungen rung gekniffen pinched ist gekommen come gekonnt* could

*With an infinitive, the past participle is knnen: "Ich habe nicht gehen knnen." kriechen crawl L laden load lassen let, allow laufen run leiden suffer leihen lend lesen read liegen* lie lud loaded lie let lief ran litt suffered lieh lent las read lag lay geladen loaded gelassen let ist gelaufen run gelitten suffered geliehen lent gelesen read gelegen lain kroch crawled ist gekrochen crawled

*Do not confuse liegen (lie, recline, strong) and (sich) legen (lay, put, weak)!

lgen lie M mahlen grind meiden avoid messen measure misslingen fail mgen like mssen must

log lied

gelogen lied

mahlte ground mied avoided ma measured misslang failed mochte liked

gemahlen ground gemieden avoided gemessen measured misslungen failed gemocht* liked

*With an infinitive, the past participle is mgen: "Sie hat nicht gehen mgen." musste had to gemusst* had to

*Used with an infinitive, as with all modals, the past participle is the infinitive mssen: "Wir haben nicht gehen mssen."

INFINITIV N nehmen take nennen name P pfeifen whistle preisen praise Q quellen gush

PRTERITUM (Preterite)

PERFEKT (Past Participle)

nahm took nannte named

genommen taken genannt named

pfiff whistled pries praised

gepfiffen whistled gepriesen praised

quoll* gushed

ist gequollen* gushed

*Also has the weak forms quellte and hat gequellt. R raten advise reiben rub reien tear reiten* ride riet advised rieb rubbed riss tore ritt rode geraten advised gerieben rubbed gerissen torn ist geritten ridden

*The verb reiten is only used for riding an animal (e.g., horseback riding); to express "ride" in a transportation sense (bus, train, etc.), fahren is used. rennen run rannte ran ist gerannt run

*The verb rennen is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. riechen smell ringen wring rinnen flow rufen call S salzen salt saufen drink saugen suck salzte salted soff drank sog* sucked gesalzen/gesalzt salted gesoffen drunk gesogen* sucked roch smelled rang wrung rann flowed rief called gerochen smelled gerungen wrung ist geronnen flowed gerufen called

* Also has the weak forms saugte and hat gesaugt. In technical use, only the weak form is used.

schaffen create; accomplish, make

schuf* created

geschaffen* created

*The strong forms schuf/hat geschaffen are used when the meaning is "created" ("Sie hat schne Sachen geschaffen."). To express "accomplished" or "made it," the weak forms schaffte/hat geschafft are used: "Er hat es geschafft (ein Tor zu machen)!" scheiden depart; separate schied separated geschieden* separated

*In the sense of "leave" or "depart" scheiden takes sein as a helping verb: "Karl ist aus dem Dienst geschieden." scheinen shine scheien shit schelten scold schieen shoot schien shone schiss shit schalt scolded schoss shot geschienen shone geschissen shit gescholten scolded geschossen shot

See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong verbs. schlafen sleep schlagen hit schleichen sneak schleifen polish schlief slept schlug hit schlich sneaked schliff* polished geschlafen slept geschlagen hit ist geschlichen sneaked geschliffen* polished

*Although the strong form is preferred, schleifte and hat geschleift (weak) are also used. schleien slit schlieen close, lock schli slit schloss closed geschlissen slit geschlossen closed geschlungen gulped geschmissen flung geschmolzen melted geschnitten cut geschreckt/geschrocken scared geschrieben written geschrien screamed ist geschritten stepped geschwiegen been silent ist geschwollen swollen

schlingen gulp (down) schlang gulped schmeien fling, toss schmelzen melt schneiden cut schrecken scare schreiben write schreien scream schreiten step schweigen be silent schwellen* swell, rise schmiss flung schmolz melted schnitt cut schrak/schreckte scared schrieb wrote schrie screamed schritt stepped schwieg was silent schwoll swelled

*There are two forms of schwellen: (1) strong (above) for the sense of "to swell up/fill with wind," and (2) weak to "fill (something) up with wind/to swell (something) up." schwimmen swim schwinden dwindle schwingen swing schwren swear schwamm swam schwand dwindled schwang swung schwur/schwor swore ist geschwommen swum ist geschwunden dwindled geschwungen swung geschworen sworn

INFINITIV Se sehen see

PRTERITUM (Preterite)

PERFEKT (Past Participle)

sah saw

gesehen seen

sein be

war was

ist gewesen been

For the conjugation of sein in the present tense, see Lesson 4 of German for Beginners. senden* send, transmit sandte sent gesandt sent

*In the sense of "transmit" or "broadcast" only the weak forms sendete and hat gesendetare used. The weak forms may also be used in the sense of "send." sieden boil singen sing sinken sink sitzen* sit sollen should, ought to sott/siedete boiled sang sang sank sank sa sat gesotten boiled gesungen sung ist gesunken sunk gesessen sat

*Do not confuse sitzen (sit, strong) and (sich) setzen (set, weak)! sollte should gesollt* should

*With an infinitive, the past participle is sollen: "Ich habe nicht gehen sollen." spalten split speien spew spinnen spin sprechen speak sprieen sprout springen jump stechen stab, sting stehen stand spaltete split spie spewed spann spun sprach spoke spross sprouted sprang jumped stach stung stand stood gespalten/gespaltet split gespien spewed gesponnen spun gesprochen spoken gesprossen sprouted ist gesprungen jumped gestochen stung gestanden* stood

*In some southern German and Austrian dialects, stehen takes sein as a helping verb: "Er ist im Eingang gestanden." stehlen steal steigen climb sterben die stieben fly about stinken stink stoen push, bump streichen strike, paint streiten argue stahl stole stieg climbed starb died stob flew about stank stank stie pushed strich struck stritt argued gestohlen stolen ist gestiegen climbed ist gestorben died ist gestoben flown about gestunken stunk gestoen pushed gestrichen struck gestritten argued

See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong verbs. T tragen carry, wear treffen meet treiben move, drive trug wore traf met trieb drove getragen worn getroffen met getrieben* driven

*In the sense of "drift" or "float" treiben takes sein as a helping verb: "Das Eis ist den Fluss entlang getrieben." triefen drip trinken drink trgen be deceptive tun do U triefte/troff dripped trank drank trog was deceptive tat did getrieft dripped getrunken drunk getrogen been deceptive getan done

berwinden overcome V verderben spoil verdrieen annoy vergessen forget verlieren lose verschleien wear (out) verzeihen forgive W wachsen* grow

berwand overcame

berwunden overcome

verdarb spoiled verdross annoyed verga forgot verlor lost verschliss wore (out) verzieh forgave

verdorben spoiled verdrossen annoyed vergessen forgotten verloren lost verschlissen worn (out) verziehen forgiven

wuchs grew

ist gewachsen grown

*In the sense of "to wax" (skis, etc.), wachsen is weak: (wachste and hat gewachst). waschsen wash weben weave weichen* yield wusch washed wob/webte wove wich yielded gewaschsen washed gewoben/gewebt woven ist gewichen yielded

*In the sense of "to soften" (up), weichen is weak: (weichte and hat geweicht). weisen indicate wenden turn wies indicated wandte* turned gewiesen indicated gewandt* turned

*Also wendete and gewendet (car, hay, etc.). werben recruit werden become warb recruited wurde became geworben recruited ist geworden* become

*As a helping verb in the passive voice: worden, as in "Ich bin oft gefragt worden." (I have often been asked.) werfen throw wiegen weigh winden twist wissen* know warf threw wog/wiegte weighed wand twisted wusste knew geworfen thrown gewogen/gewiegt weighed gewunden twisted gewusst known

*The verb wissen is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. - For the complete conjugation of wissen in all tenses, seewissen in our conjugation tables. wollen want to wollte wanted to gewollt* wanted to

*With an infinitive, the past participle is wollen: "Ich habe nicht gehen wollen." wringen wring Z zeihen accuse ziehen pull zwingen compel zieh accused zog pulled zwang compelled geziehen accused gezogen pulled gezwungen compelled wrang wrung gewrungen wrung