German conjugation


s are conjugated depending on their use: as in English, they are modified depending on the persons and number of the subject of a sentence, as well as depending on the tense and mood.
The citation form of German verbs is the infinitive form, which generally consists of the bare form of the verb with -n added to the end. To conjugate regular verbs, this is removed and replaced with alternative endings: Radical: mach-
In general, irregular forms of German verbs exist to make for easier and clearer pronunciation, with a vowel sound in the centre of the word the only part of the word that changes in an unexpected way. This modification is often a moving of the vowel sound to one pronounced further forward in the mouth. This process is called the Germanic umlaut. However, a number of verbs including sein are fully irregular, as in English I am and I was sound completely different.
For many German tenses, the verb itself is locked in a non-varying form of the infinitive or past participle that is the same regardless of the subject, and then joined to an auxiliary verb that is conjugated. This is similar to English grammar, though the primary verb is normally placed at the end of the clause. Note that in both the examples shown below the auxiliary verb is irregular.
The following tenses and modi are formed by direct conjugation of the verb:
Below is a paradigm of German verbs, that is, a set of conjugation tables, for the model regular verbs and for some of the most common irregular verbs, including the irregular auxiliary verbs.

German tenses and moods

German verbs have forms for a range of subjects, indicating number and social status:
The subject does not have to be one of these pronouns, but can instead be anything that has the same person and number. For example, in the sentences Der Ball ist rund. and Es ist rund., the verb is in the same form: third-person singular.
In German, the first-person and third-person plural and second-person plural-polite forms are identical for all verbs in every tense. Sie in the second person is used to address one or more people of high status.
As a summary of German tenses, moods and aspects:
The following tables include only the active simple tenses: those formed by direct conjugation from the verb.
The ending -e in the imperative singular is almost obligatorily lost in colloquial usage. In the standard language it may be lost or not: lieb! or liebe!, sag! or sage!
The ending -e in the first-person singular of the present is always kept in normal written style, but may also be lost in colloquial usage. This occurs more often than not in the middle of a sentence, somewhat less frequently if the verb comes to stand in the end of a sentence.

Regular ''-n'' verbs (weak verbs) (''handeln'', to act)

When a verb stem ends in -el or -er, the ending -en is dropped in favor of -n.

Regular ''-ten'' verbs (weak verbs) (''arbeiten'', to work)

When a verb stem ends in -t, an intermediate -e- is added before most endings to prevent a large consonant cluster.

Irregular ''-en'' verbs (strong verbs) (''fahren'', to drive)

Certain verbs change their stem vowel for the second-person and third-person singular forms. These usually follow one of three patterns:
Certain verbs change their stem vowels for the preterite indicative and subjunctive. These changes are unique for each verb.

Irregular verbs (''gehen'', to go, to walk)

Modal verbs (''dürfen'', may)

In modal verbs, the stem vowel will change for all conjugations of the singular simple present. These changes are unique to each verb. In addition, the ending will be missing for the first and third person conjugations of the singular simple present.

''werden'' (to become, shall, will)

''sein'' (to be)

''haben'' (to have)

''tun'' (to do)

Separable and inseparable verbs

In German, prepositions and modifying prefixes are frequently attached to verbs to alter their meaning. Verbs so formed are divided into separable verbs which detach the prefix under certain circumstances and inseparable verbs which do not. The conjugations are identical to that of the root verb, and the position of the prefix for both separable and inseparable verbs follows a standard pattern. The prefix's effect on the verb is highly unpredictable, so normally the meaning of each new verb has to be learned separately.
Separable verbs detach their prefixes in the present, imperfect and imperative. The prefix is placed at the end of the clause. The past participle is the prefix attached to the normal past participle. The infinitive keeps the prefix where it is used, for example in the conditional and future tenses.
Inseparable verbs retain the prefix at all times. The past participle has the prefix in place of ge- but keeps any irregularities of the root verb's past participle.
A number of verbs are separable with one meaning and inseparable with another. For example, übersetzen means "to translate" as an inseparable verb but "to ferry" as a separable verb.