Verbs in German one of the most important topics. It is very extensive and requires more attention. In this article, we will touch on the categories of the verb.
Main characteristics and categories of the verb
Categories of the verb
So, verbs are 70% of the entire language. They represent actions. Knowing the mechanisms of the functioning of the verb and being able to apply them is already “speaking” in a foreign language.
What are German verbs?
Pure verb in indefinite form = the basis+ neutral ending –en(rarely just – n):
mach en = to do(specifically)
tu n = to do(abstract)
lach en = laugh
denk en = to think
In addition to the ending, a prefix (one or more) can be attached to the stem of the verb. It can be separable and inseparable. Detachable attachments are percussion. Inseparable - unstressed. In a sentence, a logical stress falls on a separable prefix. For example:
Here you can see how the prefix, separating, goes to the end of the sentence or phrase. Moreover, as in English, prefixes can radically affect the new meaning of the word:
In a sentence, the verb is most often a predicate and, in agreement with the subject, has the following grammatical categories: person, number, tense, mood and voice.
|
Prasens |
Ich schreibe einen Brief. |
I'm writing a letter. |
|
Prateritum |
Ich schrieb einen Brief. |
I wrote a letter. |
|
Ich habe einen brief geschrieben. |
I wrote a letter. |
|
|
Plusquamperfekt |
Nachdem ich einen Brief geschrieben hatte, schlief ich ein. |
After I wrote the letter, I fell asleep. |
|
Ich werde einen brief schreiben. |
I will write a letter. |
|
|
Morgen um 15 Uhr werde ich diesen Brief geschrieben haben. |
Tomorrow at three o'clock I (already) will write this letter. |
Mood is the relation of action to reality. How real or unreal is it? It also includes the expression of requests, orders and calls to perform an action.
For this or that mood, the following formulas and temporary forms are used:
|
Indicative - real action in all three time planes: |
Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt, Futur I, Futur II |
|
Subjunctive mood - desired, unreal, conditional action: Indirect speech: |
Konjuntiv 2 Ich würde heute ins Cinema gehen.
Konjunktiv 1 |
|
Imperative mood - command, request, call |
du-Form: Sag( e)! Tell! wir Form: Sag en wir! Let's say! Summon: + lassen(give (opportunity) wir (2 personen):Lass uns Kaffee trinken! Let's have coffee! |
active action(action is performed by the subject)
passive action(action directed at the subject)
Unlike the Russian language in the German verb no species category, i.e. it is unambiguously impossible to determine out of context whether the action lasts or has already ended only by the form of the verb. For example:
Remember! Most native German speakers don't know half of what you've learned in this article. Foreigners who got into the language environment begin to learn it like children, observing, imitating, making mistakes, but in the end moving forward and improving with each attempt. This path can be facilitated and shortened by applying the acquired grammatical knowledge.
I want to note that on the site most of the words and cards for learning are presented in English, and this is not surprising, because English is studied more than French, Spanish and other languages. But today I am ready to present a new selection of verbs, though in German.
It is not surprising that there are irregular verbs in English and German. In English it is, in German it is Starke Verben. As you may have guessed, they just need to be learned in order not to have problems in the future. Irregular English verbs we can already find on the site, and German strong verbs you will find in this post.
How many German strong verbs are there? It is impossible to give an exact answer to this question, since in any language there are obsolete forms, and vice versa. Why do we need to study ancient words and expressions, because the language also tends to be updated over time. I have prepared a list of the most commonly used strong German verbs. You can study and not be afraid that such a verb is no longer used in modern German.
Let's take a look at our table called “List of strong conjugation verbs”(see below). We have 4 columns:
— infinitiv
— Prasens
— Imperfect
— Partizip II
We all know what they mean (if not, then move on to learning the basics). So, I decided not to enter the form in the dictionary for Lingvo Tutor Prasens for the simple reason that we will have to type too many words either on the PDA or on the computer. And form Prasens not considered highly problematic in German.
Do not be greedy for comments, write what you think about the selection!
List of strong conjugation verbs
| infinitiv | Prasens | Imperfect | PartizipII |
| l. backen (furnace) | backt | book | gebacken |
| 2. befehlen (to order) | befiehlt | befahl | befohlen |
| 3. beginnen (begin) | beginner | begann | begonnen |
| 4. beißen (to bite) | beist | biß | gebissen |
| 5. bergen (to hide) | birgt | barg | geborgen |
| 6. bersten (burst) | birst | barst | geborsten |
| 7. bewegen (induce, encourage) | bewegt | bewog | bewogen |
| 8. biegen (to bend) | biegt | god | gebogen |
| 9. bieten (offer) | beatet | bot | geboten |
| 10. binden (tie) | bindet | band | gebunden |
| 11. bitten (to ask) | bittet | bat | gebeten |
| 12. blasen (to blow) | blast | blies | geblasen |
| 13. bleiben (to stay) | bleibt | blieb | geblieben |
| 14. braten (to fry) | brother | briet | gebraten |
| 15. brechen (to break) | bricht | brach | gebrochen |
| 16. brennen (to burn) | brennt | brannte | gebrannt |
| 17. bringen (bring) | bringt | brachte | gebracht |
| 18. denken (to think) | denkt | dachte | gedacht |
| 19. dingen (to hire) | dingt | dingte | gedungen |
| 20. dreschen (thresh) | drischt | drosch(drasch) | gedroschen |
| 21. dringen (to penetrate) | dringt | drang | gedrungen |
| 22. dünken (to imagine) | dunkt(deucht) | dunkte (deuchte) | gedunkt(gedeucht) |
| 23. dürfen (to be able) | darf | durfte | gedurft |
| 24. empfehlen (recommend) | empfiehlt | empfahl | empfohlen |
| 25. erbleichen (to turn pale) | erbleicht | erbleichte(erblich) | erbleicht(erblichen) |
| 26. erkiesen (to elect) | erkiest | erkor | erkoren |
| 27. essen (to eat) | iast | aß | gegessen |
| 28. fahren (to go) | fahrt | fuhr | gefahren |
| 29. fallen (to fall) | fallt | fiel | gefallen |
| 30. fangen (to catch) | fangt | fing | gefangen |
| 31. fechten (fencing) | ficht | focht | gefochten |
| 32. finden | findet | fand | funden |
| 33. flechten (to weave) | flicht | float | geflochten |
| 34. fliegen (to fly) | flygt | flog | geflogen |
| 35. fliehen (to run) | flieht | floh | geflohen |
| 36. fließen (leak) | flyest | floss | geflossen |
| 37. fressen (to eat) | friest | frass | gefressen |
| 38. frieren (freeze) | friert | fror | gefroren |
| 39. gären (to wander) | gart | gor | gegoren |
| 40. gebaren (to give birth) | gebiert | gebar | geboren |
| 41. geben (to give) | gigbt | gab | gegeben |
| 42. gedeihen (to succeed, grow) | gedeiht | gedieh | gediehen |
| 43. gehen (to go) | geht | ging | gegangen |
| 44. gelingen (to succeed) | gellingt | gelang | gelungen |
| 45. gelten (to cost) | gilt | galt | gegolten |
| 46. genesen (to recover) | genest | genes | genesen |
| 47. genießen (to enjoy, to enjoy) | genius | genoß | genossen |
| 48. geschehen (to happen) | geschieht | geschah | Geschehen |
| 49. gewinnen (to mine) | gewinnt | gewann | gewonnen |
| 50. gießen (to pour) | giest | goss | gegossen |
| 51. gleichen (to look like) | gleicht | glich | geglichen |
| 52. gleiten (to slip) | gleitet | glitter | geglitten |
| 53. glimmen (smolder) | glimmt | glomm | geglommen |
| 54. graben (to dig) | grabt | grub | gegraben |
| 55. greifen (grab) | greift | griff | gegriffen |
| 56. haben (to have) | hat | hatte | gehabt |
| 57. halten (to keep) | halt | Hielt | gehalten |
| 58. hängen (to hang) | hangt | hing | gehangen |
| 59. hauen (to chop) | haut | hieb | gehauen |
| 60. heben (to raise) | hebt | hob | gehoben |
| 61. heißen (to be called) | heist | hieß | geheissen |
| 62. helfen (help) | hilft | half | geholfen |
| 63. kennen (to know) | kennt | cannte | gekannt |
| 64. klingen (to ring) | klingt | klang | geklungen |
| 65. kneifen (to pinch) | kneift | kniff | gekniffen |
| 66. kommen (to come) | kommt | cam | gekommen |
| 67. können (to be able) | cann | konnte | gekonnt |
| 68. kriechen (to crawl) | kriecht | kroch | gekrochen |
| 69. laden (to ship: to invite) | ladet | lud | geladen |
| 70. lassen (to order, force, leave) | last | ließ | gelassen |
| 71. laufen (to run) | lauft | life | gelaufen |
| 72. leiden (endure) | leidet | litt | gelitten |
| 73. leihen (to borrow) | leiht | lieh | geliehen |
| 74. lesen (to read) | liet | las | gelesen |
| 75. liegen (to lie down) | liegt | lag | gelegen |
| 76. löschen (go out) | Loscht | loss | geloschen |
| 77. lügen (to lie) | lugt | log | gelogen |
| 78. meiden (to avoid) | meidet | mied | gemieden |
| 79. melken (to milk) | milkt | melkte(molk) | gemelkt(gemolken) |
| 80. messen (to measure) | mist | mass | gemessen |
| 81. mißlingen (to fail) | mißlingt | mislang | mislungen |
| 82. mogen (to want) | mag | mochte | gemocht |
| 83. müssen (should) | muß | mustte | gemust |
| 84. nehmen (to take) | nimmt | nahm | genommen |
| 85. nennen (to name) | nennt | nannte | genannt |
| 86. pfeifen (to whistle) | pfeift | pfiff | gepfiffen |
| 87. pflegen (to take care of; to have a habit of) | pflegt | pflegte(pflog) | gepflegt(gepflogen) |
| 88. preisen (to praise) | preist | pries | gepriesen |
| 89. quellen (to beat with a key) | Quillt | quoll | gequollen |
| 90. raten (to advise) | rat | riet | geraten |
| 91. reiben (to rub) | reibt | rieb | gerieben |
| 92. reißen (to tear) | reist | riss | gerissen |
| 93. reiten (to ride) | reitet | ritt | Geritten |
| 94. rennen (to run) | rennt | rante | gerannt |
| 95. riechen. | riecht | roch | gerochen |
| 96. ringen (squeeze) | ringt | rank | gerungen |
| 97. rinnen (leak) | rinnt | rann | geronnen |
| 98. rufen (shout, call) | ruft | rief | gerufen |
| 99. saufen (to drink, to get drunk) | sauft | soff | gesoffen |
| 100. saugen (to suck) | saugt | sog | gesogen |
| 101. schaffen (to create) | Schafft | Schuf | geschaffen |
| 102. schallen (to sound) | schallt | schallte(scholl) | geschallt(geschollen) |
| 103. scheiden (to separate) | scheidet | schied | geschieden |
| 104. scheinen (shine) | scheme | schien | geschienen |
| 105. schelten (to scold) | schilt | schalt | gescholten |
| 106. scheren (to cut) | schiert | schor | geschoren |
| 107. schieben (to move) | Schiebt | scob | geschoben |
| 108. schiessen (to shoot) | schiest | schoss | geschossen |
| 109. schinden (to skin) | schindet | schund | geschunden |
| 110. schlafen (to sleep) | schlaft | schlief | geschlafen |
| 111. schlagen (to beat) | schlagt | schlug | geschlagen |
| 112. schleichen (to sneak up) | schleicht | schlich | geschlichen |
| 113. schleifen (to sharpen) | schleift | schliff | geschliffen |
| 114. schließen (to lock) | schliest | schloss | geschlossen |
| 115. schlingen (to wrap around) | schlingt | schlang | geschlungen |
| 116. schmeißen (to throw) | schmeist | schmiß | geschmissen |
| 117. schmelzen (to melt, to melt) | schmilzt | schmolz | geschmolzen |
| 118. schnauben (to sniffle) | Schnaubt | schnaubte(schnob) | geschnaubt(geschnoben) |
| 119. schneiden (to cut) | schneidet | Schnitt | geschnitten |
| 120. schrecken (to be frightened) | schrickt | schrak | geschrocken |
| 121. schreiben (to write) | schreibt | schrieb | geschrieben |
| 122. schielen (to shout) | schreit | schrie | geschrien |
| 123. schreiten (to walk) | schreitet | schritt | geschritten |
| 124. schweigen (be silent) | schweigt | schwieg | geschwiegen |
| 125. schwellen (to swell) | Schwillt | schwoll | geschwollen |
| 126. schwimmen (to swim) | schwimmt | schwamm | geschwommen |
| 127. schwinden (to disappear) | schwindet | swand | geschwunden |
| 128. schwingen (to wave) | schwingt | schwang | geschwungen |
| 129. schwören (to swear) | schworth | schwur(schwor) | geschworen |
| 130. sehen (to see) | sieht | sah | gesehen |
| 131. sein (to be) | ist | war | gewesen |
| 132. senden (to send) | sendet | sandte | gesandt |
| 133. sieden (to boil, to boil) | sitet | sott(siedete) | gesotten(gesiedet) |
| 134. singen (to sing) | singt | sang | gesungen |
| 135. sinken (to sink) | sinkt | sank | gesunken |
| 136. sinnen (to think) | sinnt | sann | gesonnen |
| 137. sitzen (to sit) | sitt | sass | gesessen |
| 138. sollen (to be) | soll | sollte | gesollt |
| 139. speien (spit) | speit | spie | gespien |
| 140. spinnen (to spin) | spinnt | spann | gesponnen |
| 141. sprechen (to speak) | spricht | sprach | gesprochen |
| 142. sprießen (to ascend) | spriest | spross | gesprossen |
| 143. springen (to jump) | springt | sprang | gesprungen |
| 144. stechen (to prick) | sticht | stach | gestochen |
| 145. stecken | stackt | stack(stackte) | gesteckt |
| 146. stehen (to stand) | Steht | stand | gestanden |
| 147. stehlen (to steal) | stiehlt | stahl | gestohlen |
| 148. steigen (to rise) | steigt | stieg | gestiegen |
| 149. sterben (to die) | stirbt | starb | gestorben |
| 150. stieben (to disperse) | stibt | stob | gestoben |
| 151. stinken (stink) | stinkt | stank | gestunken |
| 152. stoßen (to push) | stößt | stiß | gestossen |
| 153. streichen (to iron) | streicht | strich | gestrichen |
| 154. streiten (to argue) | streitet | stritt | gestritten |
| 155. tragen (to wear) | dragt | trug | getragen |
| 156. treffen (to meet) | trifft | traffic | getroffen |
| 157. treiben (drive) | treibt | trieb | getrieben |
| 158. treten (to step) | tritt | spend | getreten |
| 159. triefen (to drip) | trieft | trifte(troff) | getrieft(getroffen) |
| 160. trinken (to drink) | drinkt | trank | getrunken |
| 161. trügen (to deceive) | trugt | trog | getrogen |
| 162. tun (to do) | tut | tat | getan |
| 163. verderben (to spoil) | verdirbt | verdarb | verdorben |
| 164. verdrießen (to annoy) | verdriest | verdross | verdrossen |
| 165. vergessen (to forget) | vergiste | vergas | vergessen |
| 166. verlieren (to lose) | verliert | verlor | verloren |
| 167. wachsen (to grow) | wachst | wuchs | gewachsen |
| 168. wägen (to weigh) | wagt | wog | gewogen |
| 169. waschen (to wash) | wascht | wusch | gewaschen |
| 170. weben (to weave) | webt | webte(wob) | gewebt(gewoben) |
| 171. weichen (to yield) | weight | wich | gewichen |
| 172. weisen (to indicate) | weist | wies | gewiesen |
| 173. wenden (to turn) | wendet | wandte | gewandt |
| 174. werben (to recruit) | Wirbt | warb | geworben |
| 175. werden (to become) | wild | wurde | geworden |
| 176. werfen (to throw) | Wirft | warf | geworfen |
| 177. wiegen (to weigh) | wiegt | wog | gewogen |
| 178. winden | windet | wand | gewunden |
| 179. wissen (to know) | weiss | wusste | gewust |
| 180. wollen (to want) | will | Wollte | gewollt |
| 181. zeihen (to convict) | zeiht | zieh | geziehen |
| 182. ziehen (to drag) | zieht | zog | geogen |
| 183. zwingen (to compel) | zwingt | zwang | gezwungen |
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Today in the article we will talk about prefixes. There are three types in German:
- separable;
- inseparable;
- mixed.
Modal verbs in German help to express attitude towards action. Thus, the verbs "dürfen" and "können" determine the ability to do something, the verbs "sollen" and "müssen" - a necessity, and "wollen" and "möchten" - a desire, "mögen" - a preference.
Despite the fact that modal verbs are divided into 3 pairs according to semantic features, each word has its own meaning and certain rules of use in the context.
Saturday, 15 Apr 2017
abbrechen - break off, stop,
- brechen - to break
anbrechen - break, break off, start,
aufbrechen - to blossom (about plants), to begin,
ausbrechen - to run away, break out,
durchbrechen - to break through, cut through,
einbrechen - to break in, penetrate, climb in,
erbrechen - to open,
fortbrechen - break through (deep down), break through,
Saturday, 08 Oct 2016Vater - so nannten den Maler liebevoll die Arbeiter und die Arbeiterinnen Berlins, seine Zeitungsverkäufer, Kutscher, Wäscherinnen, die zerlumpten, aber lustigen Berliner Kinder. Heinrich Zille erblickte das Licht der Welt im Jahre 1856 als Sohn eines Handwerkers. Er konnte in frühen Jahren Elend und Not sehen.
Monday, 28 Mar 2016
The participle is understood as a certain verbal form that simultaneously demonstrates both the signs of verbs (voice and tense) and the signs of adjectives (the ability to decline and be used as definitions and predicates). German participles (NP) exist in two forms - NP1 and NP2. Let's compare these forms with the help of corresponding examples.
Thursday, 24 Mar 2016
The leading word in participial phrases (PO) and infinitive phrases (IO) are, respectively, participles and infinitives, which, as a rule, are separated by commas in writing. If we consider them as members of a sentence, then they are common, for example:
- Peter weigerte sich, sein Gedicht in unserer Anwesenheit vorzutragen. – Peter refused to read his poem in our presence (IO is a common addition).
- Spät am Abend angekommen, wollten sie sich unbedingt ausschlafen. - Arriving late in the evening, they definitely wanted to sleep (PO is a common circumstance).
A variety of suffixes are involved in the word formation of verbs in German. Each of these derivational suffixes in a certain way changes the meaning of the generating stem. At the same time, derivative words acquire a new sound or a new connotation. Consider the verbal suffixes available in German and the shades and meanings that they attach to derivative verbs.
Monday, 04 Jan 2016comparison table
Monday, 23 Nov 2015There are different ways in which German nouns are pluralized. There are five in total, namely:
Thursday, 30 Oct 2014Die erweiterten Partizipialgruppen
When the participle (participle) (Partizip I, Partizip II) performs the function of defining (defining) a noun (noun) and supplemented by explanatory words, a common (distributed) participial group (die erweiterte Partizipialgruppe) or a common definition (das erweiterte Attribut) is formed. ).
Friday, 02 May 2014Before considering the features of meanings in persistent expressions of such an interesting group of verbs (verb) as modal (mod.), it is necessary to deal first with their direct, that is, main, meanings.
Sunday, 23 Feb 2014Russian verbs (verb) have only one infinitive form of the verb, which is impersonal and does not contain any indications for any time. German has more infinitive forms: it has one form associated with the present tense and another associated with the past tense, for example:
Saturday, 22 Feb 2014
When operating with compound verbs (verb), a person first of all pays attention to their prefixes (pref.), among which the most difficult are those that have lost their original meaning at the present time. Such verbal prefixes include "er-", "ver-", "ent-".
The German participle (adv.) II is the third of the main verb forms. Weak and strong verbs (verb) form this form differently.
Tuesday, 18 Feb 2014The German verb (verb) " wissen" Adjacent to the group of German modal verbs. both in terms of the function it performs in certain cases, and in terms of shaping. The formation of its personal forms is similar to the formation of forms by modal verbs, for example:
Wednesday, 12 Feb 2014The imperative (pov.) form (for.) is necessary in speech in order to order, recommend something to someone or ask someone to do something, for example.
There are a lot of endings in German, unlike English, and it will take more than one hour of work to master and consolidate the topic. It is recommended to break all the material into blocks (they are given at the end of the article) and master them sequentially, moving on to the next only after confidently mastering the previous one. Confident - this means: when building phrases, you can independently use the verb in the right tense, person, number, without hesitation, time for reflection, without looking at the reference tables.
General rules in German
Declension of German verbs is carried out according to a simple scheme. First, isolate the components of the word: the stem and the ending (-en or -n). Examples:
- Lernen (to study): lern is the base, -en is the ending.
- Lachen (laugh): lach - basis, -en - ending.
- Lesen (read): les - base, -en - ending.
- Meißeln (to hammer): meißel - base, -n - ending.
Now it is enough to add the correct ending to the base. They change depending on:
- Persons (first, second, third).
- Numbers (singular, plural).
- Time (there are five actively used tenses in German).
Strong or weak?
Strong verbs will have to be studied separately, they can be called exceptions. Special tables with conjugation of strong verbs are given in any German grammar book, and in dictionaries such verbs are marked with an asterisk. Although there are certain patterns in their conjugation, it is too laborious to derive them. When they are declined, the root vowel can change. Weak verbs are conjugated in the same way, according to the same scheme, they are the majority in German. It is worth starting the study of the declension of German verbs with weak ones.
Conjugation of weak verbs
The endings and conjugations of weak verbs in the present tense (prasens) are shown in the table. For example, the following verbs are taken: read (lernen), werfen (throw), verzeihen (forgive).
face and number | endings | |
lerne, werfe, verzeihe |
||
lernst, wirfst, verzeihst |
||
lernt, wirft, verzeiht |
||
lernen, werfen, verzeihen |
||
lernt, werft, verzeiht |
||
lernen, werfen, verzeihen |
||
lernen, werfen, verzeihen |
A few more simple German verbs in the present tense in the table below:
Practice by trying the decline of the following weak German verbs (among the most used and popular): arbeiten- work, fragen - ask, antworten - answer, atmen - breathe, aussehen - look, bauen - build, bedeuten - mean, besuchen - visit, dauern - last, erzählen - tell, erinnern - remember, führen - lead, drive, heilen - treat, kaufen - buy, küssen - kiss, kosten - cost, lachen - laugh, malen - draw, pflanzen - plant, pflegen - look after, reden - talk, sagen - talk, spielen - play, spazieren - walk, sammeln - collect , träumen - to dream, tadeln - to scold, vertrauen - to trust, warten - to wait, zahlen - to pay.
How to learn German verb conjugation
Rule number 1 - do not overload yourself. When looking at the declension tables of German verbs in reference books, many people experience a certain psychological phenomenon, which is still little studied and has no name, but with very specific symptoms: too much and obviously overwhelming amount of work ahead reduces interest, motivation and, as a result, worsens the assimilation of the material . The brain, even with a properly built study scheme in the future, seems to begin to resist. You shouldn't pressure. After reading the rules above, take pieces of new material that are feasible for yourself.
So, you need to learn:
- Varieties of verbs. There are five in total: regular, irregular, verbs with a separable or inseparable prefix, and verbs ending in -ieren. Each of these groups of verbs has its own conjugation features.
- Groups of strong verbs. In each of these groups or subgroups, strong (irregular) verbs are declined in the same way. It is more convenient to disassemble one such group in one lesson than to study tables in which all strong verbs are given in a row.
- Declension of reflexive verbs or verbs with sich. In general, it does not differ from the general scheme of conjugation of weak verbs, but there are nuances.
- Topic "Modal Verbs".
- Verbs with two forms of conjugation. They can be declined both as strong and as weak, pay special attention to verbs with two meanings (according to the meaning, the type of conjugation is determined).
- Past tense declension of German verbs (Präteritum, Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt). Many reference books list three popular forms: the infinitive, the past simple, and the participle used to form the perfect tense (Partizip II).
- Declension in Special Forms of the German Future Tense (Futur I and Futur II).
- Declension of German verbs in different moods (two forms of the subjunctive mood - Konjunktiv I and Konjunktiv II, and an imperative mood, that is, an imperative).
For example, the table below shows the present tense conjugations of some strong verbs:
You should immediately at least superficially familiarize yourself with the conjugation of modal verbs. They are widely used:
Declension of the verb to have
The declension of the German verb haben needs to be considered separately. This verb is one of the most commonly used. It is noteworthy that the two most important verbs haben and sein are inflected according to an individual pattern. By the way, this is typical for most languages of the Romance group. For comparison, in brackets in the table is the weak verb machen (to do), inflected according to the rules. Only the present, past simple, and perfect tenses are shown. Try to analyze the differences yourself - this is already enough to activate the memory and remember the non-standard forms of the verb haben.
face and number | |||
A simple analysis shows that there are not many differences. To learn the conjugation forms of the verb, you just need to memorize the forms in Präsens for the second and third person, in the past tense the stem itself changes, and in Perfect everything is according to the standard scheme.
The verb haben is used:
- On one's own.
- As an auxiliary verb for perfect forms.
- In the modal construction haben + zu + Infinitiv.
Declension of the verb to be
The declension of the German verb sein also needs to be studied separately. Table with forms (for comparison, the weak verb suchen is given - to search):
face and number | Perfect (these forms for suchen are not given because there is no difference) |
||
(such) | (suchte) | ||
(suchst) | (such test) | ||
(sucht) | (suchte) | ||
(suchen) | (suchten) | ||
(sucht) | (suchet) | ||
(suchen) | (suchten) |
In addition to its direct purpose, the verb to be is used in German:
- as a linking verb (in Russian it is implied in such cases, but omitted);
- to construct impersonal sentences;
- as an auxiliary verb to form the past tense;
- in the modal schema sein + zu + infinitiv.
Given the frequency of use, it is not worth spending a lot of time studying the conjugation forms of the verb sein: they are all well absorbed in the process of working on other topics.
Declension of the verb werden
He, too, should be given special attention. This trinity - haben, sein, werden can be safely considered the most important, because these verbs are used everywhere. Both as an assistant and independently. For comparison, the weak verb weinen is given - to cry.
face and number | |||
(weine) | (weinte) | ||
(weinst) | (weintest) | ||
(weint) | (weinte) | ||
(winen) | (weinten) | ||
(weint) | (weintet) | ||
(winen) | (weinten) |
The verb warden is used:
- As an independent verb in the meaning of becoming.
- As an auxiliary verb for the formation of forms of the future tense.
- For the formation of subjunctive verbs Konjunktiv I and Konjunktiv II.
- To express conjectures.
- To form the passive voice in all tenses.
Summary table of the most popular forms of the most requested verbs (present tense):
Learning the declension of irregular verbs in German is much easier than it seems at first glance. It is not worth spending serious time studying the forms of these most popular verbs. It is enough to read them once, trying to remember them, and then try to compose life phrases with each of the forms. Try to remember the correct form on your own. Look into the handbook only after you have actually made an effort to remember. Such efforts stimulate memory and form associative connections - this is much more effective than mechanical memorization. For most students, just one of these exercises is enough. Although it will not be superfluous to repeat it in a day. But, as a rule, in the future, the material is fixed in the course of other topics, do not forget to just follow the regularity and coherence (each subsequent topic contains at least a little bit from the previous one) of classes.
The situation is similar with strong verbs. Surprisingly, most of them are among the most popular. It is necessary to devote some time to getting acquainted with them, but the consolidation of the material can be quite combined with the study of other topics.
That's all you need to know to successfully start diving into the topic. Be prepared to swim a lot more. In any case, armed with this information, as well as a good German grammar guide, you will not drown and will be able to move forward with confidence.
