German verbs

A verb is that part of speech that describes an action . Verbs come in an almost bewildering array of tenses , aspects , and types . For now , we will limit our discussion to verbs used in the present tense — i.e., describing an action occurring in the present . You should start to recognize that the form a verb takes is related to the subject of that verb : the verb form must match the person of t he subject . This requirement is sometimes evident in English verbs , but always so in German verbs . Consider the following English and German sentences (the verb is studied in every case :

Several things are illustrated by these sentence pairs . First , all verbs in German follow the rule just stated that a verb form must agree with its subject . Starting in a later lesson we will learn the verb forms associated with each person in German . Second , this rule in English applies mostly to the verb ‘to be’ (e.g., I am, you are, he is, etc.) . In some English verbs , the 3rd person singular form is unique, often taking an ‘s’ or ‘es’ ending : “I give at the office”, but “He gives at the office” (and “She studies…” above) . Finally , some German verbs are best translated with an English ‘to be’ verb form added . This is called the progressive form in English (‘What are you studying?’), but it does not exist in German .

Thus , a verb like “nennen” can best be translated as “to name” or “to call” . The following example may make this clearer . In the present tense , the following statements in English :

• ‘They are calling the corporation , “Trans-Global”‘
• ‘They name the corporation , “Trans-Global”‘
• ‘They call the corporation , “Trans-Global”‘
• ‘They do call the corporation , “Trans-Global”‘

are all expressed in German in only one way : 🔊 Listen Sie nennen die Firma , “Trans-Global” . And the question statement : ‘Do they call the corporation , “Trans-Global”?’ becomes , in German : Nennen sie die Firma , “Trans-Global”?