German Verb Conjugation | A Complete Guide

Verb conjugation in German involves changing a verb’s form based on tense, person, and number. Regular and irregular verbs follow different conjugation patterns, and modal, auxiliary, and reflexive verbs have additional rules.

This guide explains the fundamental conjugation patterns for regular, irregular, and modal verbs across different tenses.

Present Tense Conjugation (Präsens)

Regular Verb Conjugation (schwache Verben)

Most German verbs follow a regular conjugation pattern by adding specific endings to the verb stem.

Example: "lernen" (to learn)

Irregular Verb Conjugation (starke Verben)

Irregular verbs change their stem vowel in the 2nd-person and 3rd-person singular forms.

Example: "sprechen" (to speak)

Other common irregular verbs:

• sehen → du siehst, er sieht (to see)
• geben → du gibst, er gibt (to give)
• nehmen → du nimmst, er nimmt (to take)

Past Tense Conjugation (Präteritum & Perfekt)

Simple Past (Präteritum)

The simple past is commonly used in written language and follows different patterns for regular and irregular verbs.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs take -te endings.

Example: "lernen" (to learn)

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs change their stem vowel and take different endings.

Example: "sprechen" (to speak)

Present Perfect (Perfekt)

The present perfect is used in spoken German and is formed with haben/sein + past participle.

Structure: haben/sein + ge- + verb stem + -t/-en

Examples:

• Ich habe gelernt. (I have learned.)
• Er hat gesprochen. (He has spoken.)
• Sie ist gekommen. (She has come.)

Verbs that take sein as an auxiliary verb include those indicating movement or change of state:

• gehen (ist gegangen)
• kommen (ist gekommen)
• fahren (ist gefahren)

Future Tense (Futur I)

The future tense is formed using werden + infinitive.

Example: "lernen" (to learn)

• Ich werde lernen. (I will learn.)
• Er wird sprechen. (He will speak.)

Modal Verbs (Modalverben)

Modal verbs modify the meaning of the main verb and have irregular conjugations.

Example: "können" (can, to be able to)

Other modal verbs:

• müssen (must) → du musst, er muss
• dürfen (may) → du darfst, er darf
• wollen (want) → du willst, er will

In compound sentences, the modal verb stays in second position, and the main verb moves to the end in the infinitive:

• Ich kann Deutsch sprechen. (I can speak German.)

Reflexive Verbs (Reflexive Verben)

Reflexive verbs require a reflexive pronoun that agrees with the subject.

Example: "sich waschen" (to wash oneself)

Key Takeaways

1. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns, while irregular verbs change their stems.
2. Simple past (Präteritum) is common in writing, while present perfect (Perfekt) is used in speech.
3. Future tense (Futur I) is formed with werden + infinitive.
4. Modal verbs modify meaning and require an infinitive at the end of the sentence.
5. Reflexive verbs require reflexive pronouns.

Mastering these conjugation rules will help you form grammatically correct German sentences in any tense.