Introduction to German VerbsImportant Verbs & Conjugation

Now that we have covered the basics on German nouns, let's turn our attention to German verbs: the words that describe what the subject (noun or pronoun) is doing.
Take a look at this sentence:
What is the woman doing? The woman is learning German.
1. German Verb Conjugation
In order to use verbs in German sentences, we must first cover the topic of conjugation. Let's do this by learning how to conjugate the verb machen, which means 'to make'.
Whenever we introduce new verbs, we do so using the infinitive (or: the root form of the verb).
However, depending on the sentence subject or tense, the word may be inflected, or transform into different versions of the word machen. This is called conjugation.
Take a look at this conjugation table, for machen:
Pronoun | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
ich | I do | |
du | You do (informal) | |
er / sie /es | He / She / It does | |
wir | We do | |
ihr | You do | |
sie | They do | |
Sie | You do (formal) |
As noted above, how the verb is conjugated is determined by two major factors:
- what tense is being used (e.g: present tense, past tense)
- what noun (e.g. the dog, the woman) or pronoun (e.g: I, we, they) is being used
In this lesson, we will only focus on the present tense.
2. Regular German Verbs
Most German verbs, called regular verbs, follow a common conjugation pattern. This means that if you know how to conjugate one verb of this kind, you will be able to do so to other regular verbs in the same way.
The verb machen is an example of a regular verb.
Another example is gehen, which means 'to go'. Let's see how this verb is conjugated, similarly to machen:
Pronoun | machen | gehen | Ending |
---|---|---|---|
ich | -e | ||
du | -st | ||
er / sie /es | -t | ||
wir | -en | ||
ihr | -t | ||
sie | -en | ||
Sie | -en |
Notice how the beginnings (the stems) of both verbs stays the same, whilst the endings transform in the same ways.
Using the same conjugation pattern, try to guess the correct endings for the regular verbs below:
Pronoun | machen | sagen | lernen | Ending |
---|---|---|---|---|
ich | mache | -e | ||
du | machst | -st | ||
er, sie, es | macht | -t | ||
wir | machen | -en | ||
ihr | macht | -t | ||
sie | machen | -en | ||
Sie | machen | -en |
Well done! 🎉
You're starting to conjugate German verbs!
This is an important step, as you will be conjugating verbs in practically every sentence you construct.
Before we move on, here's a short list of other commonly used regular verbs to chew on:






There are also special verbs in the German language, called trennbare Verben, or separable verbs. In the present tense, the prefix of these verbs separate and are placed at the end of the simple sentence (or main clause). An example of a separable verb is aufstehen, which means 'to get up'. In a sentence, it may be used like so: Ich stehe morgen auf.
3. Irregular German Verbs
Unlike regular verbs, which follow the same conjugation pattern, the patterns of irregular verbs are unique. This means that it would be best to simply memorise them, as you come across them.
Luckily, you'll come across two common irregular verbs so often, that you'll learn their unique patterns in no time! These two essential verbs are: sein (to be), and haben (to have).
Pronoun | sein | Translation |
---|---|---|
ich | I am | |
du | You are | |
er / sie / es | He / She / It is | |
wir | We are | |
ihr | You are (pl.) | |
sie | They are | |
Sie | You are (formal) |
Pronoun | haben | Translation |
---|---|---|
ich | I have | |
du | You have | |
er / sie / es | He / She / It has | |
wir | We have | |
ihr | You have (pl.) | |
sie | They have | |
Sie | You have (formal) |
The German verbs sein and haben are especially important, because they allow us to understand who someone is, how someone is feeling, what someone has, and so on.
Try to guess the correct translations of the sentences below:

Great job 🎉!
You are beginning to use some of the most important verbs in the German language!
4. German Verb Practice
Before heading to the next lesson, try out the sentence building exercise below.
Tap the words to construct your sentence.

Write the correct conjugated verb in each input.
1. | Ich gerne Äpfel. |
2. | Mein Bruder einen Hamster. |
3. | Der Junge sehr schlau. |
4. | Ich dreizehn Katzen. |
5. | Wir jetzt zur Arbeit fahren. |
6. | Deine Freundin nicht Auto fahren. |
Well done 🎉
You are ready to move on to the next lesson on German declension.