Ch 1 · Lesson 16German · Chapter 1 · Lesson 16 · Grammar primer
Verb conjugation: six endings
Drop the -en, add six endings, and most German verbs are done: , , .
The short version
Six endings conjugate almost every German verb
, , .
Why?Hide
Drop the -en and add -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en. That one chant covers the present tense of nearly every verb in the language, and the and forms are just the infinitive again. Learn it out loud once and the rest is vocabulary.
The whole pattern on one screen
The highlighter marks the ending: the part that changes with the person.
| Person | Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -e | . | I say nothing. |
| -st | . | You say yes. |
| -t | . | He says no. |
| -en | . | We say yes. |
| -t | . | You (all) say no. |
| -en | . | They / you say yes. |
Step one: find the stem
Every German infinitive ends in -en, or in plain -n for a few such as (to change). Chop it off and what is left is the stem, which carries the meaning:
| Infinitive | Stem | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| | . | I say yes. |
| | . | I'm doing that. |
| | . | I'm going now. |
| | . | I'll be right there. |
The stem carries the meaning; the ending carries the person. That division of labour is the whole system.
Step two: add six endings
Here are three verbs through all six persons. Read down a column: the stem never moves, only the highlighted ending does.
| Person | sagen (say) | machen (do) | kommen (come) |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | |
| | | |
// | | | |
| | | |
| | | |
/ | | | |
Three things in that table save you effort:
- The and forms are the infinitive.
.- We are coming today. Onlybreaks this ( - The polite is the same as they.
.means You are coming today or They are coming today; only the capital letter, or the context, tells them apart. - er and share -t.
.- He does that..- You (all) do that. The pronoun does the work.
So the six endings are really four shapes: -e, -st, -t and -en.
Two spelling adjustments you cannot skip
The endings stay the same, but two kinds of stem need help to stay pronounceable:
| Stem ends in | What changes | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -t or -d | add an e before -st, -t | . | You work a lot. |
| -t or -d | add an e before -st, -t | . | He thinks that good. |
| an s sound | -st becomes -t | ? | What your name? |
| -n infinitive | plural ends in -n | . | We are changing that. |
So , never arbeitst, because the bare t-st is unsayable. And is identical to : Max. - His name is Max. That is as exotic as regular German gets.
Going further: Strong verbs: the same endings plus a vowel change and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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Lesson 16 of 38 in this chapter