Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The present tense describes what is happening now, or what usually happens.
The German present tense corresponds to a variety of English verb forms.
To ask a question in the present tense, simply switch the subject and the verb:
Lernst du Deutsch?
[1]
Regular weak verbs
ich e wir en
du st ihr t
er t sie en
sie t
es t Sie en
spielen – spiel
[2]
Verbs with a slightly irregular present tense
These are verbs where it would be difficult to pronounce the endings –st and –t when added to the stem, as it ends
in a consonant such as t or d.
To solve this problem, -e is inserted before the –st and –t endings:
antworten to answer
baden to have a bath, bathe
heiraten to get married
kosten to cost
reden to speak
regnen to rain
retten to rescue
warten to wait
zeichnen to draw
[3]
Verbs like angeln
These are verbs which have the ending –n and not –en.
bummeln to stroll
rudern to row
sammeln to collect
segeln to sail
wandern to hike
These verbs drop the –s from the –st ending in the du part of the verb:
[4]
Strong irregular verbs in the present tense
These verbs make alterations to their stem in the du, er, sie, es forms but add the normal endings:
Strong verbs make a variety of different changes, but the parts of the verb affected remain the same: du, er, sie, es.
There are many strong verbs which must be learnt from the tables of Stammformen (page 59)
[5]
Four common irregular verbs in the present tense.
haben – to have
haben is also used as the auxiliary verb to help form the perfect tense of most verbs
haben + accusative noun
sein – to be
sein is also used as the auxiliary verb to help form the perfect tense of some verbs (manly to do with motion)
sein + nominative noun
[6]
werden – to become
werden is also used to form the future tense and the passive
wissen – to know
[7]
Separable Verbs
These are verbs which consist of two parts: a basic verb plus a prefix.
In English, the two parts of the verb are always separated, but in German they are sometimes separated, sometimes
together. Here are some examples using the verb aufmachen (to open):
Ich mache das Fenster auf present tense, separated, prefix to end
Ich machte das Fenster auf simple past tense, separated, prefix to end
Ich habe das Fenster aufgemacht perfect tense, joined together in past participle
Ich werde das Fenster aufmachen future tense, joined together in infinitive
Ich kann das Fenster aufmachen after modal verb joined together in infinitive
Peter weiß, dass ich das Fenster aufmache joined together in subordinate clause
[8]
The present tense of reflexive verbs
These are verbs in which the subject and direct object are the same person or thing, so the subject does something
to him or herself. Here, as an example, is the present tense of the verb sich wiegen (to weigh oneself) with the
reflexive pronouns in bold:
[9]
Imperative – commands, suggestions and instructions
We use command forms to get people to do things. These are not necessarily used for ordering people about. They
can be polite requests. In German, command forms vary depending on the person you are talking to:
du form: take the du form of the present tense and remove the word du and the –st ending:
du spielst – spiel!
du gibst – gib!
This means that irregular / strong verbs keep the change made in the du form of the present tense.
EXCEPTIONS – if an umlaut is added to the du form of the present tense, this will be dropped:
du fährst – fahr!
du schläfst – schlaf!
SEIN (to be) has an irregular imperative form – sei!
ihr form: take the ihr form of the present tense and remove the word ihr:
Sie form: take the Sie form of the present tense and turn the words around:
[10]
CHAPTER 2 – MODAL VERBS and THE FUTURE TENSE
These verbs all work in the same way: they send another verb in its infinitive form to the end of the clause.
These are six verbs which are commonly used in German. They are irregular and have been set out in full:
[11]
müssen – to have to, must
wollen – to want to
Note that this verb means want to and is NOT the equivalent of will in English.
Note that wollen wir...? is used for shall we...?
Wollen wir in die Stadt gehen?
[12]
sollen – to be supposed to, meant to, due to
[13]
mögen – to like
This verb is different from the other modals as it is mostly used without another verb in the infinitive. It means to
like and is used for liking food and people:
[14]
THE FUTURE TENSE
This consists of the present tense of the verb werden plus an infinitive at end of the clause.
werden
However, when it is clear that you are talking about the future, most Germans will simply use the present tense:
[15]
Other ways of referring to the future
[16]
CHAPTER 3 - THE PERFECT and PLUPERFECT TENSES
The perfect tense is the most common tense in German for talking about something which has already happened.
It is often used in speech, letters, e-mails and informal writing, and for past actions which are still relevant to the
present. It is formed by using the present tense of haben or sein together with the past participle of the relevant
verb, which usually goes at the end of the clause.
SAGEN – SAG
ge + sag + t = gesagt
N.B.
If the stem ends in -chnen, -d, -dnen or –t, add et to ease pronunciation:
antworten - geantwortet
[17]
Verbs which end with “ieren” do not add ge:
reagieren - reagiert
telefonieren - telefoniert
trainieren - trainiert
renovieren - renoviert
Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add ge to the past participle either:
be/ent/emp/er/ge/miss/ver/zer
verkaufen – verkauft
If the verb has a separable prefix, insert –ge between the prefix and the verb stem:
mitmachen - mitgemacht
[18]
Some common weak verbs:
Those verbs which take sein in the perfect tense are marked with an *
[19]
machen gemacht to make, do
malen gemalt to paint
öffnen geöffnet to open
regnen geregnet to rain
reisen gereist* to travel
sammeln gesammelt to collect
schicken geschickt to send
sparen gespart to save
spielen gespielt to play
suchen gesucht to look for
tanzen getanzt to dance
teilen geteilt to share
tippen getippt to type
schenken geschenkt to give (present)
üben geübt to practise
verdienen verdient to earn
wandern gewandert* to ramble, hike
warten gewartet to wait
wohnen gewohnt to live
zahlen gezahlt to pay
[20]
SEIN as auxiliary
*Some verbs of motion may be used with a direct object, in which case they take haben:
Mein Vater hat mich nach Hause gefahren.
[21]
STRONG VERBS
These must be learnt. The past participle usually starts with ge and ends with en, and there is often a vowel change
involved:
singen - gesungen
Those verbs which take sein in the perfect tense are marked with an *
zerbrechen – zerbrochen
If a verb has a separable prefix, insert –ge between the prefix and the stem:
ankommen – angekommen
The “Stammformen” may be learnt in the common groups starting on page 59 of this pamphlet.
[22]
THE PLUPERFECT TENSE
This is formed by using the simple past (rather than the present) of haben or sein with the relevant past participle.
The rules about both choice of haben or sein and vowel changes in the verb stem of strong verbs are the same as in
the perfect tense. The past participle will go at the end of the sentence or clause.
As in English, the pluperfect tells you what HAD happened, usually prior to another implied event in the past.
[23]
CHAPTER 4 - THE SIMPLE PAST
The simple past tends to be used a lot more in formal writing (newspapers, books), but in spoken German with
modal verbs, with sein and haben and a number of other common forms such as es gab, or when a speaker wants to
express continuous action in the past.
It is also used to express completed actions, continuing states ot incompleted actions in the past or actions which
began before a fixed point of time in the past (with SEIT + DATIVE).
Weak Verbs
You form the simple past of weak verbs by adding the following endings to the verb stem:
Note that with verb stems ending in -chn, -d, -dn, or -t you add an extra e in the middle to all forms to ease
pronunciation: rechnen – ich rechnete
[24]
Strong Verbs
There is usually a vowel change in the simple past tense of strong verbs (see Stammformen starting on page 59).
These verbs add the following endings:
Mixed Verbs
Verbs which use the weak verb endings but which also have a vowel change stem in the simple past are known as
mixed verbs. There are relatively few of them:
[25]
CHAPTER 5 - THE CASES AND ARTICLES
Nominative
This is the form found in dictionaries and vocabulary lists. It shows the subject of the sentence:
After the verbs sein (to be) and werden (to become):
Accusative
[26]
After the verb haben:
jeden Tag
letzten Dienstag
durch - through
ohne - without
gegen - against
wider - contrary to
um - (a)round
für - for
bis - until
entlang - along
[27]
Dative
[28]
Short forms - not compulsory, but usual:
Nouns in the dative plural add an n (if they do not already end in an n):
The short form beim is used before an infinitive in expressions such as:
GENITIVE
This is the least common of the four German cases. It almost always corresponds to the meaning “of”
(possession):
[29]
Nowadays the Germans often use the dative instead:
statt - instead of
trotz - in spite of
während - during
wegen - because of
In the genitive, masculine and neuter singular nouns add an –es or –s.
Generally, short words add –es and longer words –s, but this is not a strict rule.
[30]
ACCUSATIVE OR DATIVE
Certain prepositions take either the Accusative or the Dative, as German makes a clear distinction between motion
from place to place and position.
an on (vertical things)
auf on, on top of (horizontal things)
hinter behind
in in/into
neben next to, near, beside
über above, over
unter under, beneath, among
vor in front of, outside, before
zwischen between
an + das = ans
an + dem = am
auf + das = aufs
in + das = ins
in + dem = im
[31]
ARTICLES
In English this is “the”. In German, the word varies according to the gender, case and number of the noun.
dieser – this
jeder – each
welcher – which
[32]
The Indefinite Article in English is “a” or “an” and there is no plural form, because “a” has no plural. The same
applies in German:
You cannot use nicht with ein in German! Instead you must use the Negative Article, kein, which does have a
plural, and which means “no”, “not a”, “not any”
The Possessive Adjectives also follow this table. These are words like my, your, his and her and also agree
according to gender, number and case.
[33]
mein my
dein your
sein his, its
ihr her
unser our
euer your
ihr their
Ihr your
CHAPTER 6 - NOUNS
[34]
A noun is a word which names a thing, a person, a concept or a place. German nouns must start with a capital letter
and are either masculine, feminine or neuter, der, die or das.
Although the genders are not always logical, the following notes may help:
Masculine - der
Many short nouns formed by removing –en from infinitives der Schlaf, der Anfang, der Schrei
Feminine – die
[35]
Female persons die Frau, die Schwester
(unless the noun ends in –chen or –lein, das Mädchen)
(Note that some neuter and masculine nouns end in –e, such as der Junge)
Neuter – das
[36]
Infinitives used as nouns das Schwimmen
Words ending in –chen or –lein (diminutive form) das Mädchen, das Kindlein
-o das Radio
NOTE that in some cases a different gender can give a different meaning:
Compound nouns
German often puts two or more words together to make a new noun. In this case the gender of the compound noun
is decided by the noun at the end:
[37]
German has a variety of ways of making nouns plural. When you learn a noun it is useful to learn not only its
gender but also its plural. Dictionaries show how to form the plural of a noun in a shortened form:
die Frau (en) = die Frauen
*Although there are exceptions, the majority of feminine nouns end in –n or –en.
In the dative plural –n is added to the plural noun, unless it already ends in –n or –s:
die Brille
die Hose
die Schere
die Treppe
[38]
Weak nouns
This is a small group of masculine nouns which end in –n or –en in all forms except the masculine singular:
der Bauer
der Journalist
der Mensch
der Nachbar
der Name
der Neffe
der Pilot
der Polizist
der Soldat
der Student
der Tourist
CHAPTER 7 - PRONOUNS
[39]
subject, direct object, indirect object
Pronouns are short words which we use in place of nouns. They are a form of shorthand to help us avoid repetition:
Subject pronouns are in the nominative case and refer to people or things:
ich I
du you (informal singular)
er he, it
sie she, it
es it
wir we
ihr you (informal plural)
sie they (m + f)
Sie you (formal singular or plural)
Wo ist er?
Wir gehen ins Kino.
Direct object pronouns are in the accusative case and are used when the pronoun is the direct object of the
sentence or after an accusative preposition:
[40]
Ich finde ihn langweilig – I find him boring.
Das Buch ist für dich – The book is for you.
Indirect object pronouns are pronouns in the dative case, when the pronoun is the indirect object of the sentence
or after a dative preposition:
[41]
The pronoun man means ‘one’ (not to be confused with ‘der Mann’) and is commonly used in German. In English
we often say ‘you’ or ‘they’ but the German use ‘man’:
The verb form used is the third person singular (er / sie / es).
Ist das dein neuer Computer? Er ist sehr schön. Wann hast du ihn gekauft?
Ist das deine neue Jacke? Sie ist sehr schön. Wann hast du sie gekauft?
Ist das dein neues Fahrrad? Es ist sehr schön. Wann hast du es gekauft?
[42]
When in English ‘it’ or ‘them’ follow prepositions, and refer to things rather than people, in German da- is used
instead of the usual pronoun:
Das ist ein Foto von meinem Bruder – das ist ein Foto von ihm.
Das ist ein Foto von meinem Fahrrad – das ist ein Foto davon.
This does not depend on gender but on the fact that the brother is a person and the bike is a thing. The system with
da- can be used with plural nouns too:
Das ist ein Foto von meinen Pflanzen – das ist ein Foto davon.
da- can be added to most prepositions. When the preposition starts with a vowel we add dar-:
Der Computer ist auf dem Tisch – der Compter ist darauf.
CHAPTER 8 - ADJECTIVES
[43]
Adjectives are words that describe nouns. When German adjectives come after the noun, they work just like
English adjectives and do not need to agree:
However, when adjectives come before the noun, they need an ending. These endings vary according to whether
the definite, indefinite or no article at all is being used, and also depending on case and number. German has three
systems of endings for adjectives, which means three tables to learn! It is not quite as complicated as it seems at
first, as many of the endings are the same in the different tables.
GOLDEN RULE! After basic der, die, das adjective takes e, otherwise en!
This table is also used after dieser, jeder, welcher.
[44]
INDEFINITE (ein, eine, ein)
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural m,f,n,
Nominative er e es en
Accusative en e es en
Genitive en en en en
Dative en en en en
NO MARKER
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural m,f,n,
Nominative er e es e
[45]
Accusative en e es e
Genitive en er en er
Dative em er em en
Sometimes nouns and adjectives are used without any marker. In most cases German then gives the adjective the
ending that a marker would have had, if it had been used.
viel / e
einige
wenige
mehr
weniger
numbers
personal pronouns
[46]
Basic Word Order
In German, the verb is always in second place in a sentence or clause. It is not always the second word, because
you cannot separate a phrase like “in meinem Zimmer” or “letzte Woche”, but the verb must be the second idea.
1 2 3 4
ich habe ein Bett in meinem Zimmer
1 2 3 4
in meinem Zimmer habe ich ein Bett
A word or phrase may be put at the beginning of a sentence to give it more emphasis/importance, but the verb must
come second!
The first item is very often the subject, but it may be the direct object for emphasis:
[47]
Den Briefträger biss der Hund.
The first item is very often a time expression (see page 57) or one of the following common expressions:
glücklicherweise fortunately
zum Glück fortunately
leider unfortunately
unglücklicherweise unfortunately
darum and so, therefore
deswegen because of this
also and so, therefore
außerdem moreover, besides
‘ja’ and ‘nein’ at the beginning of a sentence do not count as the first idea.
The following five conjunctions link tow main clauses without affecting the word order:
und
aber / sondern
denn
oder
[48]
Sometimes the verb has to go at the end of the sentence or clause.
Modal verbs normally need to be used with another verb. This verb is always in the infinitive and it goes to the
end of the sentence/clause:
In the future tense, the infinitive is also sent to the end of the sentence/clause:
In the perfect tense, the past participle is sent to the end of the sentence/clause:
[49]
Time – Manner – Place (TMP)
When a sentence contains several pieces of information, the order that they must take is:
All three elements may not necessarily be present, but the word order remains the same:
[50]
Time + Verb + Subject
Sometimes you may want to stress the time element. You can do this by putting this piece of information at the
beginning of the sentence. However, the subject and verb must then be swapped round so that the verb is still the
second piece of information:
You can also start sentences with different pieces of information, such as an expression of place, but the verb still
has to be the second idea:
GOLDEN RULE!
The verb is second or last unless it’s a question when it’s first.
[51]
SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
Certain conjunctions (words that join clauses together) send the verb to the end of the sentence/clause:
als when
bevor before
damit so that
dass that
ob whether, if
obwohl although
seitdem since
sobald as soon as
während while
weil because
wenn when, if
All of the above introduce a subordinate clause, in which the verb is sent to the end:
[52]
This is what happens when there are two verbs or the verb is separable:
Whenever the subordinate clause comes before the main clause, the sentence ends up having two verbs
together in the middle, separated by a comma.
When there are two infinitives in the subordinate clause, the part of haben or werden which goes with them
is placed BEFORE them, which is unusual:
Es tut mir leid, dass ich dir nicht habe helfen können.
Ich glaube, dass ich nach Hause werde gehen müssen.
[53]
CHAPTER 10 - RELATIVE CLAUSES
A relative clause is a clause inserted after a noun to give further information about that noun.
The relative clauses here give extra information about the man and the coat. In English, we usually introduce
relative clauses with who, which or that. These words are called relative pronouns. These may sometimes be left
out in English but never in German.
The gender/number of the relative pronoun depends on the word you are referring back to:
Note that the verb in the relative clause is at the end of the clause. Separate the relative clause from the rest of the
sentence using commas.
The case of the relative pronoun depends on the part it is playing inside the relative clause.:
[54]
Der Mann, der Max heißt, ist Lehrer.
The man who is called Max is a teacher.
The genitive forms dessen/deren are the German equivalent of whose and refer back to the word before the relative
clause:
When referring back to something less specific than a definite noun, was is used to introduce the relative clause.
This often occurs after alles, nichts, etwas or a superlative such as das Beste:
[55]
Ich mag alles, was gut schmeckt.
I like everything that tastes good.
Time Expressions
[56]
Here are some common time expressions for talking about the present, past and future.
Remember to invert your verb if you start a sentence with one of these!
Present
heute - today
jeden Tag / Abend – every day / evening
normalerweise - normally
gewöhnlich - usually
ab und zu – now and then
von Zeit zu Zeit – from time to time
manchmal - sometimes
am Wochenende – at the week-end
jedes Wochenende – every week-end
in den Ferien – in the holidays
während der Ferien – during the holidays
um vier Uhr – at four o’clock
am Vormittag / Nachmittag / Abend – in the morning / afternoon / evening
Past
[57]
gestern - yesterday
vorgestern – the day before yesterday
gestern Abend – yesterday evening
letzten Monat – last month
letzten Montag – last Monday
letzte Woche – last week
letztes Wochenende – last week-end
letztes Jahr – last year
in den Ferien – in the holidays
Future
STAMMFORMEN
[58]
important verbs
[59]
ie –o
[60]
i-i-a-u
[61]
e-i-a-o
[62]
ei-ei-ie-ie
[63]
a-ä-u-a
[64]
a-ä-ie-a
[65]
ei-ei-i-i
[66]
mixed verbs
Here, you add ge to the simple past stem, not the present tense stem, and add t (not en) to the end.
[67]
[68]