Conjugation of the German Verb “Sein”

“Sein oder Nichtsein, das ist hier die Frage” (To be or not to be, that is the question)

sein” is used as a “helping verb” in combination with other verbs, such as the expression “ich bin gefahren” (I
have gone or I have driven), the present perfect tense form of the verb “fahren” (to travel, to go, to drive).

Present Tense (Präsenz)

ich bin I am
du bist you are
er/sie/es ist he/she/it is
wir sind we are
ihr seid you are
sie sind they are

Ich bin Daniels Schwester. — I am Daniel’s sister.

Ich bin mir nicht sicher, wann am Montag die Schule beginnt. — I am not sure what time school starts on Monday.
Er ist sehr stur. — He is very stubborn.
Bist du auch am Freitag mit dabei? — Are you going to be there on Friday as well?

Simple Past Tense (Imperfekt)

ich war I was

du warst you were
er/sie/es war he/she/it was
wir waren we were
ihr wart you were
sie waren they were

Ich war bis Freitag in Berlin. — I was in Berlin until Friday.

Sie waren mit dem Auto verreist. — They went on vacation by car.
Wir waren uns nicht sicher, oben eine gute Idee ist. — We weren’t sure if it was a good idea.
Wart ihr schon einmal in München? — Have you been to Munich before?

Present Perfect Tense (Perfekt)

ich bin gewesen I was/have been

du bist gewesen you were/have been
er/sie/es ist gewesen he/she/it was/has been
wir sind gewesen we were/have been
ihr seid gewesen you were/have been
sie sind gewesen they were/have been

Bist du heute morgen hier gewesen? Es war reines Chaos. — Have you been here this morning? It was pure chaos.
Sie ist sehr freundlich gewesen. — She was very friendly.
Ich bin am Donnerstag im Museum gewesen. — I was at the museum on Thursday.
Wir sind noch nie in Frankreich gewesen. — We have never been to France.
Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)

ich war gewesen I had been

du warst gewesen you had been
er/sie/es war gewesen he/she/it had been
wir waren gewesen we had been
ihr wart gewesen you had been (as in: you guys had been)
sie waren gewesen they had been

Es war ein Heidenaufwand gewesen, die Feier zu organisieren. — It had been an ordeal to organize the party.
Er war nicht sehr freundlich zu uns gewesen. — He hadn’t been very friendly to us.
Du warst damals noch sehr klein gewesen. — You had been very young at that time.
Sie waren noch nie bei uns gewesen. —  They had never stayed at our place before.

Future Tense (Futur)

Unlike the English future tense, the German future tense (Futur) is used much less often. Especially when it comes
to the verb “sein”, most Germans — instead of using the future tense — will just use an adverb of time instead.

So instead of saying “Er wird am Dienstag kommen”, Germans would more likely say “Er kommt am Dienstag”,
which uses the present tense and an adverb.

ich werde sein I will be

du wirst sein you will be
er/sie/es wird sein he/she/it will be
wir werden sein we will be
ihr werdet sein you will be
sie werden sein they will be

Ich werde bis dahin schon in Urlaub sein. — I will be on vacation already by that point.
Sie werden darüber sehr überrascht sein. — They will be very surprised about that.
Es wird sicherlich ganz leicht sein. — It will surely be very easy.
Ihr werdet doch nicht schon losgegangen sein? — You haven’t already left, have you?

Future Perfect (Futur II)

It’s a conglomerate of various versions of the verb “sein” all muddled together in one tense. The Futur II describes
an action that takes place in the future, but will have already been finished by that point.

ich werde gewesen sein I will have been

du wirst gewesen sein you will have been
er/sie/es wird gewesen sein he/she/it will have been
wir werden gewesen sein we will have been
ihr werdet gewesen sein you will have been
sie werden gewesen sein they will have been
Es wird sicherlich nicht leicht für sie gewesen sein. — It surely won’t have been easy for her.
Ihr werdet bis dahin schon im Urlaub gewesen sein. — You guys will have been on vacation at that point.
Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I)

The subjunctive or Konjunktiv I is a rather unpopular tense in Germany, because it sometimes tends to be a little
difficult (even for Germans). It’s technically a mood, not a tense, and most often it is based on the infinite form of
a verb.

Most likely you will see it in newspaper articles, where it is used to express indirect speech (or in
German: indirekte Rede). However, indirekte Rede can also be used in spoken language, such as if you are talking
about a third person.

ich sei I am (said to be)

du sei(e)st you are (said to be)
er/sie/es sei he/she/it is (said to be)
wir seien we are (said to be)
ihr seiet you are (said to be)
sie seien they are said to be

Sie sagte mir Frau Meyer sei sehr streng. — She told me Mrs. Meyer was said to be very strict.
Er sagte mir, du seist ein Lügner. — He told me you were a liar. (Or: He told me you were said to be a liar.)
Es gab ein Gerücht in der Stadt, sie sei abgehauen. — There was rumor in town she had taken off.
Er wehrte sich gegen die Anschuldigungen, er sei ein Dieb. — He denied the accusations that he was a thief.

Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)

Unlike the Konjunktiv I, which is used in indirect speech, the Konjunktiv II  expresses wishful thinking and
situations that are contrary to reality. It is also used to express a polite request. While the German form of the
subjunctive II (“wäre”) is very similar to the English equivalents such as “If I were you, I would not do that”,
the Konjunktiv II  is based off the German simple past tense (Imperfekt).

ich wäre I would be
du wärest  you would be
er/sie/es wäre he/she/it would be
wir wären we would be
ihr wärt you would be
sie wären they would be

Es wäre schön, wenn du in Zukunft pünktlich wärst. — It would be nice if you were on time in the future.
Es wäre mir lieber, wenn er nicht dabei wäre. — I would prefer it if he wasn’t there.
Wärst du so gut und sagst ihnen Bescheid? — Could you be so nice and let them know?
Ich wäre jetzt lieber im Urlaub. — I would rather be on vacation right now.

-Since both of the subjunctive forms are mood and not tenses, they can be modified to be used in several tenses.

Ich wäre gewesen — I would have been

Ich sei gewesen — I am said to have been
Sie seien gewesen — they were said to have been
-They are mostly used in more formal settings or in written language and not in day-to-day language
Command forms of the German Verb “Sein” – Imperativ

There are a couple command forms for the German verb “sein” — usually, they are used in combination with
other words.

Singular
Sei still! /  Sei leise! Be quiet!
Be nice! (This is something you would typically
Sei brav!
say to a small child or a dog.)
Plural
Seid still!/Seid leise! Be quiet (you guys)!
Seid brav! Be nice (you guys)!