Hallo! In this article, we will be looking at the German Present tense, what it is and how to use it. Enjoy!
What is the German present tense?
The German Präsens (or Gegenwartsform) is the only tense to express the present. From all German tenses, the Präsens is the one that is used the most. This tense is always taught first because it is our most important and basic tense. It is used to express both present and future.
When should we use the German present tense?
From all German tenses, the Präsens is the one that is used the most.
We use the German present tense when we want to express:
As you can see, the German present tense is our go-to when it comes to basic and everyday communication.
How do we form the present tense in German?
In order to form German verbs in the present tense, we need the infinitive. The infinitive is the basic form of our verb, so the verb that has not been conjugated yet.
Please note: When we conjugate a verb in German, we always have to add the personal pronoun at the beginning. Maybe you know a language (e.g. Spanish or Italian) where it is possible to just use the conjugated verb form (without a personal pronoun) because its ending is already telling us if it is for example 1. personal singular.
However, in this case, German is like English. In the English present tense, you cannot just say “Am from England.” or “Are a nice person.” It has to be “I am from England.” and “You are a nice person.” The same rule applies for German!
These are the German personal pronouns, which you have to learn by heart:
| 1st person singular ich | 1st person plural wir |
| 2nd person singular du | 2nd person plural ihr |
| 3rd person singular er / sie / es | 3rd person plural sie / Sie* |
*The polite form in German is the 3rd person plural Sie.
Back to the infinitive of the verb. The regular German verbs end on “-en”. We take away this suffix (or ending) which leaves us with the verb’s stem. To this stem we now add this suffixes:
| 1st person singular - e | 1st person plural - en* |
| 2nd person singular - st | 2nd person plural - t |
| 3rd person singular - t | 3rd person plural - en* |
*You might notice that 1st and 3rd person plural are similar to the infinitive. One more reason to add the personal pronoun!
Take for example the important verb machen (to do). To the stem mach we now add our endings of the present tense.
| 1st person singular ich mach - e | 1st person plural wir mach - en |
| 2nd person singular du mach - st | 2nd person plural ihr mach - t |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es mach - t | 3rd person plural sie/Sie mach - en |
With the mandatory personal pronouns, this gives us: ich mache, du machst, er / sie / es macht, wir machen, ihr macht, sie / Sie machen.
Or as another example the verb fragen (to ask). The stem is frag, which gives us the following conjugation:| 1st person singular ich frage | 1st person plural wir fragen |
| 2nd person singular du fragst | 2nd person plural ihr fragt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es fragt | 3rd person plural sie/Sie fragen |
And also the important verb gehen (to go). The stem is geh, which gives us the following conjugation:
| 1st person singular ich gehe | 1st person plural wir gehen |
| 2nd person singular du gehst | 2nd person plural ihr geht |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es geht | 3rd person plural sie/Sie gehen |
Irregularities in the German present tense
As almost every other language, German too has its irregularities. But don’t worry, here you find a list of the most frequently used verbs in our daily communication.
Sein (to be)
| 1st person singular ich bin | 1st person plural wir sind |
| 2nd person singular du bist | 2nd person plural ihr seid |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es ist | 3rd person plural sie/Sie sind |
Haben (to have (got))
| 1st person singular ich habe | 1st person plural wir haben |
| 2nd person singular du hast | 2nd person plural ihr habt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es hat* | 3rd person plural sie/Sie haben |
*The only irregularity in this verb are the 2nd and 3rd person singular.
Heißen
When you present yourself, you can use the verb heißen. There is no correct translation into English, it would be to be called but there is just no real equivalent. But maybe you know the French s’appeler, Spanish llamarse or Italine chiamarsi, they are equal to the verb’s sense in German!
| 1st person singular ich heiße | 1st person plural wir heißen |
| 2nd person singular du heißt* | 2nd person plural ihr heißt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es heißt | 3rd person plural sie/Sie heißen |
*The only irregularity in this verb is the 2nd person singular.
Here are some sentences, which contain irregular verbs in the present tense:
| Ich bin hier. | I am here. |
| Wo seid ihr?* | Where are you? |
| Er hat einen Hund. | He has got a dog |
| Wir haben ein großes Haus. | We have a big house. |
| Sie heißt Lisa. | Her name is Lisa. |
| Wie heißt du?* | What is you name? |
*You might notice that the personal pronoun stands behind the conjugated verb when you are asking a question. This type of question we call Inversion.
a) Modal verbs
Let us continue with more irregular verbs. German has modal verbs, which are used frequently in our daily communication.
Maybe you can recognize a pattern concerning the (ir)regularity in the conjugation… If not, don’t despair! We will give you the solution at the end of this paragraph.
Wollen (to want)
| 1st person singular ich will | 1st person plural wir wollen |
| 2nd person singular du willst | 2nd person plural ihr wollt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es will | 3rd person plural sie/Sie wollen |
Können (to can; to know how to do sth.)
| 1st person singular ich kann | 1st person plural wir können |
| 2nd person singular du kannst | 2nd person plural ihr könnt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es kann | 3rd person plural sie/Sie können |
Müssen (to must; to have to)
| 1st person singular ich muss | 1st person plural wir müssen |
| 2nd person singular du musst | 2nd person plural ihr müsst |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es musst | 3rd person plural sie/Sie müssen |
Dürfen (to be allowed; to can)
| 1st person singular ich darf | 1st person plural wir dürfen |
| 2nd person singular du darfst | 2nd person plural ihr dürft |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es darf | 3rd person plural sie/Sie dürfen |
Sollen (to be supposed to; shall)
| 1st person singular ich soll | 1st person plural wir sollen |
| 2nd person singular du sollst | 2nd person plural ihr sollt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es soll | 3rd person plural sie/Sie sollen |
There is a pattern with these modal verbs in the present tense, which facilitates your studying! Just have a look at the three plural forms. They still follow the rule from above: stem + regular suffix. Only the singular forms are irregular!
Here are some sentences, which contain modal verbs in the present tense:
| Du musst mir helfen. | You have to help me. |
| Ich will dich wiedersehen. | I want to see you again. |
| Wir können das schaffen. | We can manage it. |
| Kannst du tanzen? | Can you dance? |
| Was wollt ihr tun? | What do you want to do? |
| Ihr sollt das nicht essen. | You are not supposed to eat that. |
| Er darf mich nicht stören. | He is not allowed to disturb me. |
| Sie müssen ihr Zimmer aufräumen. | They have to tidy up their room. |
| Darfst du heute ausgehen? | Can you go out tonight? (Are you allowed to go out tonight?) |
| Sie soll es ihm sagen. | She is supposed to tell him. |
b) Strong verbs
Strong verbs change their vocal in the 2nd and 3rd person singular.
a -> ä (“Umlaut”)
e -> i or ie
Here you find the most commonly used strong verbs.
a -> ä
Fahren (to drive)
| 1st person singular ich fahre | 1st person plural wir fahren |
| 2nd person singular du fährst | 2nd person plural ihr fahrt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es fährt | 3rdperson plural sie/Sie fahren |
Laufen (to walk; to run)
| 1st person singular ich laufe | 1st person plural wir laufen |
| 2nd person singular du läufst | 2nd person plural ihr lauft |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es läuft | 3rd person plural sie/Sie laufen |
Tragen (to carry; to wear)
| 1st person singular ich trage | 1st person plural wir tragen |
| 2nd person singular du trägst | 2nd person plural ihr tragt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es trägt | 3rd person plural sie/Sie tragen |
e -> ie
Lesen (to read)
| 1st person singular ich lese | 1st person plural wir lesen |
| 2nd person singular du liest | 2nd person plural ihr lest |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es liest | 3rd person plural sie/Sie lesen |
Sehen (to see)
| 1st person singular ich sehe | 1st person plural wir sehen |
| 2nd person singular du siehst | 2nd person plural ihr seht |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es sieht | 3rd person plural sie/Sie sehen |
e -> i
Brechen (to break)
| 1st person singular ich breche | 1st person plural wir brechen |
| 2nd person singular du brichst | 2nd person plural ihr brecht |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es bricht | 3rd person plural sie/Sie brechen |
Essen (to eat)
| 1st person singular ich esse | 1st person plural wir essen |
| 2nd person singular du isst | 2nd person plural ihr esst |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es isst | 3rd person plural sie/Sie essen |
Sprechen (to speak)
| 1st person singular ich spreche | 1st person plural wir sprechen |
| 2nd person singular du sprichst | 2nd person plural ihr sprecht |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es spricht | 3rd person plural sie/Sie sprechen |
Geben (to give)
| 1st person singular ich gebe | 1st person plural wir geben |
| 2nd person singular du gibst | 2nd person plural ihr gebt |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es gibt | 3rd person plural sie/Sie geben |
Here are some sentences, which contain strong verbs in the present tense:
| Ich fahre dich nach Hause. | I will drive you home. |
| Er fährt einen BMW. | He drives a BMW. |
| Fährst du mit dem Auto? – Nein, ich laufe. | Do you drive? – No, I walk. |
| Wir laufen einen Marathon. | We run a marathon. |
| Ihr tragt dieselben Schuhe. | You wear the same shoes. |
| Er trägt ihre Taschen. | He carries her bags. |
| Ich lese viel. | I read a lot. |
| Lesen Sie Zeitung? | Do you read the newspaper? |
| Siehst du mich? | Do you see me? |
| Wir sehen uns morgen! | See you tomorrow! |
| Sie bricht ihr Versprechen. | She breaks her promise. |
| Ihr esst zu schnell. | You eat too fast. |
| Heute Abend essen wir zusammen. | Tonight, we will eat together. |
| Du sprichst gut deutsch. | Du speak German well. |
| Ihr sprecht zu laut. | You speak to loud. |
| Er gibt ihr alles, was sie will. | He gives her everything she desires. |
| Du gibst so schnell nicht lauf. | You don’t give up so fast. |
Of course, there are numerous irregular verbs. Nevertheless, we can categorize them in order to discover a pattern in there irregularity.
a) Verb stem ends in –d or –t .
Arbeiten (to work)
| 1st person singular ich arbeite | 1st person plural wir arbeiten |
| 2nd person singular du arbeitest* | 2nd person plural ihr arbeitet* |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es arbeitet | 3rd person plural sie/Sie arbeiten |
*Here, we insert an additional e in front of the regular suffix.
Halten (to hold)
| 1st person singular ich halte | 1st person plural wir halten |
| 2nd person singular du hältst | 2nd person plural ihr haltet |
| 3rd person singular er/sie/es hält | 3rd person plural sie/Sie halten |
Vielen Dank!
We hope you have learnt something from this article. Surely, you can always come back here to check on a conjugation. But keep in mind that your successful learning comes from steady repetition: Constant dripping wears away the stone. Or as we say in German: Steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein.
A FUN AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO LEARN GERMAN