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:

Die Frau
+
subject
lernt
+
verb
Deutsch.
object

The woman learns German

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:

PronounConjugationTranslation
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)
machen / to do; present tense

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:

PronounmachengehenEnding
ich
-e
du
-st
er / sie /es
-t
wir
-en
ihr
-t
sie
-en
Sie
-en
machen / to do; gehen / to walk; present tense

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:

PronounmachensagenlernenEnding
ichmache
-e
dumachst
-st
er, sie, esmacht
-t
wirmachen
-en
ihrmacht
-t
siemachen
-en
Siemachen
-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:

reden
to speak
spielen
to play
leben
to live
glauben
to believe
fragen
to ask
arbeiten
to work
☝️Separable Verbs

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).

PronounseinTranslation
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)
sein / to be; present tense
PronounhabenTranslation
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)
haben / to have; present tense

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:

No Mistakes
1
Er hat einen guten Beruf.

He's got a good job.
They have jobs.
I don't have a job.

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.

No Mistakes
1

Ich
Du
mach
mache
eine
einen
Kuchen.

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.