Present tense for irregular Verbs in German
Present tense for irregular Verbs in German
Just like English, German has both regular verbs and irregular verbs. The difference between these two types of verbs is found in conjugation. Regular verbs are the kind that once one knows their stem, one can follow a rule and produce the conjugation in all the different tenses by rote. Irregular verbs in German are the kind where the stem changes unpredictably, and the student has no choice but to memorize the conjugation of each irregular verb separately.
Present Tense Irregular Verbs
Below are five common irregular strong German verbs conjugated in the present tense. Each of the five German present tense irregular verbs addressed in this section gets a German irregular verbs chart. Each example illustrates a pattern of irregular German conjugation.
The first conjugation chart shows the present tense conjugation of the verb geben (to give). The chart shows how stem vowel changes can occur in the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb:
| Personal Pronoun(s) | German Verb | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | gebe | I give, I am giving |
| du | gibst | you give, you are giving |
| er/sie/es | gibt | he/she/it gives, he/she/it is giving |
| wir | geben | we give, we are giving |
| ihr | gebt | you (plural) give, you (plural) are giving |
| sie | geben | they give, they are giving |
| Sie | geben | you (formal) give, you (formal) are giving |
Examples
| English | German |
|---|---|
| I go to school. | Ich gehe zur Schule. |
| You see the movie. | Du siehst den Film. |
| He reads a book. | Er liest ein Buch. |
| She gives a present. | Sie gibt ein Geschenk. |
| We come home. | Wir kommen nach Hause. |
| You know the answer. | Ihr wisst die Antwort. |
| They bring the food. | Sie bringen das Essen. |
| I do my homework. | Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben. |
| You meet your friends. | Du triffst deine Freunde. |
| He takes a shower. | Er nimmt eine Dusche. |
| She sleeps well. | Sie schläft gut. |
| We eat breakfast. | Wir frühstücken. |
| You see a bird. | Ihr seht einen Vogel. |
| They drink water. | Sie trinken Wasser. |
| I write a letter. | Ich schreibe einen Brief. |
| You sing a song. | Du singst ein Lied. |
| He tells a story. | Er erzählt eine Geschichte. |
| She drives a car. | Sie fährt Auto. |
| We swim in the lake. | Wir schwimmen im See. |
| You take a walk. | Ihr macht einen Spaziergang. |
