One German tense, several English meanings
German has one present tense where English has several forms. Ich lerne covers I learn, I am learning, and, with seit, even I have been learning. There is no separate -ing form to build, which makes the German present simpler than it first looks.
The present also handles planned future events when a time word makes the timing clear, exactly like English does in sentences such as We fly to Vienna tomorrow.
| Ich lerne seit zwei Jahren Deutsch. | I have been learning German for two years. Present tense plus seit expresses an ongoing duration. |
| Wir fliegen morgen nach Wien. | We are flying to Vienna tomorrow. Present tense with a time word covers the near future. |
The regular endings
Strip the -en from the infinitive to get the stem, then add these endings.
Two small spelling adjustments keep things pronounceable. Stems ending in -t or -d insert an e before -st and -t: du arbeitest, er arbeitet. Stems ending in -s, -ß, or -z drop the s of the du ending: du heißt, du tanzt.
| Pronoun | Ending | machen (to do, to make) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | mache |
| du | -st | machst |
| er / sie / es | -t | macht |
| wir | -en | machen |
| ihr | -t | macht |
| sie / Sie | -en | machen |
Stem-changing verbs
A group of common verbs changes its stem vowel, and only in the du and er/sie/es forms. All other forms stay regular.
- a to ä: fahren (du fährst, er fährt), schlafen (du schläfst, er schläft)
- e to i: sprechen (du sprichst, er spricht), essen (du isst, er isst), nehmen (du nimmst, er nimmt)
- e to ie: lesen (du liest, er liest), sehen (du siehst, er sieht)
| Er fährt zu schnell. | He drives too fast. fahren changes a to ä in the er form. |
| Du sprichst sehr gut Deutsch. | You speak German very well. sprechen changes e to i in the du form. |
| Sie liest jeden Abend. | She reads every evening. lesen changes e to ie. |
Sein and haben
The two most frequent verbs in the language are irregular. Learn them as complete sets now, because the Perfekt in Unit 7 is built on them.
| Pronoun | sein (to be) | haben (to have) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin | habe |
| du | bist | hast |
| er / sie / es | ist | hat |
| wir | sind | haben |
| ihr | seid | habt |
| sie / Sie | sind | haben |
| Ich bin müde. | I am tired. |
| Hast du Zeit? | Do you have time? Questions need no extra helper verb like English do. |
The verb-second rule
In a normal German statement, the conjugated verb sits in second position. The first position can hold the subject, a time phrase, a place, or an object. Whatever goes first, the verb stays second, and the subject then moves to third position.
Second position means the second slot of the sentence, and a slot can be several words long. Am Montag fills one slot, so the verb comes directly after it: Am Montag arbeite ich.
| Ich trinke morgens Kaffee. | I drink coffee in the morning. Subject first, verb second. |
| Morgens trinke ich Kaffee. | In the morning I drink coffee. The time word takes first position, so the subject moves behind the verb. |
| Heute haben wir keinen Unterricht. | Today we have no class. Heute fills slot one, haben stays second. |
When you start a sentence with anything other than the subject, check one thing only: verb second, subject right after it. This single habit removes the most common English-speaker word order error.
Questions and commands: verb first
Yes/no questions put the conjugated verb in first position, with no equivalent of English do: Trinkst du Kaffee? Commands to du also start with the verb, usually without the pronoun: Komm her!
| Kommen Sie aus Berlin? | Are you from Berlin? Verb first, formal Sie after it. |
| Wohnst du hier? | Do you live here? |
Pronunciation corner
These five sounds carry almost every conjugated form in this unit.
| ich | /ɪç/ | ish, with a soft hissing ch near the front of the mouth, never a hard k |
| sprechen | /ˈʃpʁɛçn̩/ | SHPREH-shyen. Word-initial sp is always shp in German. |
| fährst | /fɛːɐ̯st/ | fairst. The ä is a long open e, like the ai in 'fair'. |
| sein | /zaɪn/ | zine, rhyming with 'mine'. German s before a vowel sounds like English z. |
| habe | /ˈhaːbə/ | HAH-buh, with a clear final uh sound. Do not drop the final e in careful speech. |
Practice drill
Fill in the correct present-tense form, or transform the sentence as instructed.
Ich ___ jeden Tag Deutsch. (lernen)Show answer
lerne
Du ___ sehr schnell. (fahren)Show answer
fährstStem change a to ä in the du form.
Er ___ ein Buch. (lesen)Show answer
liestStem change e to ie.
Wir ___ in Berlin. (wohnen)Show answer
wohnen
___ du müde? (sein)Show answer
Bist
Sie ___ zwei Katzen. (haben; sie = she)Show answer
hat
Ihr ___ zu laut. (sprechen)Show answer
sprechtNo stem change in the ihr form.
Transform, starting with Morgens: Ich trinke morgens Kaffee.Show answer
Morgens trinke ich Kaffee.Verb second, subject third.
Frequently asked questions
Does German have a present progressive like I am eating?
No separate form exists. Ich esse covers both I eat and I am eating. If you want to stress that something is happening right now, add gerade: Ich esse gerade.
What can go in first position of a German sentence?
Almost any single element: the subject, a time phrase, a place, or an object. The rule is that exactly one element goes before the verb, and the verb stays second.
How do I know whether a verb changes its stem?
Dictionaries and verb lists mark it, and only the du and er/sie/es forms are affected. The changing verbs are a closed group of common verbs, so you meet them so often that the forms become automatic quickly.
Why does the subject sometimes come after the verb?
Because the verb must stay in second position. If a time word or object takes first position, the subject moves to third. This inversion is standard word order, and it carries no special emphasis by itself.
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