Language/German/Grammar/Present-Tense

German Grammar → Verbs and Conjugation → Present Tense

As a language learner, mastering present tense is a crucial milestone to express oneself in almost any situation in daily life. In this lesson, we will focus on the present tense and learn how to use it with regular and irregular verbs.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs follow a well-defined pattern when conjugated in present tense. In order to conjugate a regular verb, all you need to do is to remove the "-en" ending from the infinitive form, and add the appropriate ending according to the subject pronoun. Here are the endings:

Subject Pronouns	Ending
Ich (I)	-e
Du (You, informal singular)	-st
Er, Sie, Es (He, She, It)	-t
Wir (We)	-en
Ihr (You, informal plural)	-t
Sie (You, formal plural)	-en

As an example, let's take the verb "tanzen" (to dance):

German	Pronunciation	English
Ich tanze	ɪç ˈtant͡sə	I dance
Du tanzt	duː ˈtant͡st	You dance (informal singular)
Er tanzt	ɛɐ̯ ˈtant͡st	He dances
Sie tanzt	ziː ˈtant͡st	She dances
Es tanzt	ɛs ˈtant͡st	It dances
Wir tanzen	vɪɐ̯ ˈtant͡sn̩	We dance
Ihr tanzt	iːɐ̯ ˈtant͡st	You dance (informal plural)
Sie tanzen	ziː ˈtant͡sn̩	You dance (formal plural)

Note that verbs ending with "-ieren" are also considered regular when it comes to present tense conjugation. In this case, we remove the "-ieren" ending and add "-iere" for the "Ich" form and "-ieren" for the rest of the subject pronouns. Let's take the verb "studieren" (to study) as an example:

German	Pronunciation	English
Ich studiere	ɪç ʃtuˈdiːʁə	I study
Du studierst	duː ʃtuˈdiːʁst	You study (informal singular)
Er studiert	ɛɐ̯ ʃtuˈdiːʁt	He studies
Sie studiert	ziː ʃtuˈdiːʁt	She studies
Es studiert	ɛs ʃtuˈdiːʁt	It studies
Wir studieren	vɪɐ̯ ʃtuˈdiːʁən	We study
Ihr studiert	iːɐ̯ ʃtuˈdiːʁt	You study (informal plural)
Sie studieren	ziː ʃtuˈdiːʁən	You study (formal plural)

Irregular Verbs

Unlike Regular verbs, irregular verbs have a unique conjugation pattern depending on the verb root. There is no specific rule to apply to conjugate an irregular verb, but with practice, you will learn how to conjugate the most common ones with ease.

Here is a list of the most commonly used irregular verbs in German and their conjugation in present tense:

German	Pronunciation	English
Ich bin	ɪç bɪn	I am
Du bist	duː bɪst	You are (informal singular)
Er ist	ɛɐ̯ ɪst	He is
Sie ist	ziː ɪst	She is
Es ist	ɛs ɪst	It is
Wir sind	vɪɐ̯ zɪnt	We are
Ihr seid	iːɐ̯ zaɪt	You are (informal plural)
Sie sind	ziː zɪnt	You are (formal plural)

German	Pronunciation	English
Ich habe	ɪç ˈhabe	I have
Du hast	duː ˈhast	You have (informal singular)
Er hat	ɛɐ̯ ˈhat	He has
Sie hat	ziː ˈhat	She has
Es hat	ɛs ˈhat	It has
Wir haben	vɪɐ̯ ˈhabən	We have
Ihr habt	iːɐ̯ ˈhabt	You have (informal plural)
Sie haben	ziː ˈhabən	You have (formal plural)

German	Pronunciation	English
Ich gehe	ɪç ˈɡeːə	I go
Du gehst	duː ˈɡeːst	You go (informal singular)
Er geht	ɛɐ̯ ɡeːt	He goes
Sie geht	ziː ɡeːt	She goes
Es geht	ɛs ɡeːt	It goes
Wir gehen	vɪɐ̯ ˈɡeːən	We go
Ihr geht	iːɐ̯ ɡeːt	You go (informal plural)
Sie gehen	ziː ˈɡeːən	You go (formal plural)

Common Situations

Knowing how to use present tense in common situations is essential for effective communication in German. Here are a few examples:

• Expressing likes and dislikes: "Ich mag Musik" (I like music), "Ich mag keine Tomaten" (I don't like tomatoes).
• Talking about habits: "Ich gehe jeden Morgen zur Arbeit" (I go to work every morning), "Er trägt immer eine Brille" (He always wears glasses).
• Describing a condition: "Sie ist müde" (She is tired), "Er ist krank" (He is sick).
• Expressing opinions: "Ich denke, dass es gut ist" (I think it's good), "Sie findet, dass es langweilig ist" (She thinks it's boring).

Exercises

To practice present tense, here are a few exercises you can try:

• Conjugate the following regular verbs: "sprechen" (to speak), "spielen" (to play), "kaufen" (to buy).
• Conjugate the following irregular verbs: "machen" (to do/make), "wissen" (to know), "fahren" (to drive).
• Write a short paragraph about your daily routine using present tense.
• Write a short paragraph about your favorite hobby using present tense.

Summary

In this lesson, we learned how to use present tense with regular and irregular verbs in common situations. We also practiced conjugating both types of verbs. Present tense is fundamental to communicating in German, and with practice, you will become more comfortable using it.

Sources

• German Conjugation
• German Grammar

Table of Contents - German Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Basic Sentence Structures

• Subject and Verb
• Noun and Gender

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Greetings and Introduction

• Greetings and Goodbyes
• Introducing Yourself

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Definite and Indefinite Articles

• Gender and Articles
• Plural Forms
• Cases: Nominative and Accusative

  ---

Numbers, Dates and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Days of the Week and Months
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Conjugation

• Verb Forms
• Present Tense
• Separable Verbs

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Family and Friends

• Family Members
• Talking About Your Friends

  ---

Prepositions

• Using Prepositions
• Two-Way Prepositions

  ---

Food and Drinks

• Food and Meals
• Drinks and Beverages

  ---

Germany and German-Speaking Countries

• Geography and Landmarks
• Cuisine and Traditions

  ---

Pronouns and Possessives

• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns

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Travel and Transportation

• Booking a Trip
• Public Transportation

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Modal Verbs

• Expressing Abilities
• Talking About Obligations

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Shopping and Clothes

• Shopping for Clothes
• Buying Groceries

  ---

Music and Entertainment

• Popular Musicians and Genres
• Movies, TV and Literature

  ---

Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Comparative and Superlative Forms

  ---

Health and Body

• Talking About Health
• Body Parts

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Time and Temporal Prepositions

• Using Time Expressions
• Temporal Prepositions

Related Lessons

• Indefinite Articles in German
• Negation
• Definite Articles in German
• 0 to A1 Course
• Questions
• Subject and Verb
• Simple negative sentences
• How to Use Have
• Nouns