Deutche forms

Ablaut Class 1a - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - ei - i - i German Verb beien, biss, gebissen bleichen, blich, geblichen gleichen, glich, geglichen gleiten, glitt, geglitten greifen, griff, gegriffen leiden, litt, gelitten pfeifen, pfiff, gepfiffen reien, riss, gerissen reiten, ritt, geritten scheien, schiss, geschissen schleichen, schlich, geschlichen schleifen, schliff, geschliffen schmeien, schmiss, geschmissen schneiden, schnitt, geschnitten schreiten, schritt, geschritten spleien, spliss, gesplissen streichen, strich, gestrichen streiten, stritt, gestritten weichen, wich, gewichen Also see the ei-ie-ie verbs (bleiben, schreiben, bite, bit, bitten bleach, bleached, bleached resemble, resembled, resembled glide, glided, glided grasp, grasped, grasped suffer, suffered, suffered whistle, whistled, whistled tear, tore, torn ride, rode, ridden shit, shitted (shat), shitted sneak, sneaked, sneaked polish, polished, polished toss, tossed, tossed cut, cut, cut step, stepped, stepped splice, spliced, spliced spread, spread, spread argue, argued, argued retreat, retreated, retreated English Meaning

German Strong Verbs

Ablaut Classes

Strong-verb vowel patterns in German

ablaut n. [G, fr. ab away from + Laut sound] (1849) a systematic variation of vowels in the same root or affix or in related roots or affixes esp. in the Indo-European languages that is usu. paralleled by differences in use or meaning (as in sing, sang, sung, song)

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Deutche forms There are seven main ablaut classes or categories found in the conjugation of verbs in modern Germanic languages (German, Dutch, English, etc.). These vowel-shift patterns make it easier to learn how to conjugate strong verbs in German. Some German verbs even follow the identical English vowel pattern: German trinken, trank, getrunken vs. English drink, drank, drunk. In modern German, classes 3b and 4 are identical. In English, Class 4 verbs have retained an -n in the past participle (broken, spoken) not found in Class 3b. Use the table below to learn more about German strong-verb patterns and the ablaut classes. Click on a class to see German verbs in that class and the vowel pattern for that category. Also see the alphabetical list below.
Ablaut Patterns in German

Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Click on an ablaut class for details Note: Because the ablaut classes are based on the vowel sounds in Proto-Indo-European, Old English, and Old High German, the spelling of the vowels may differ in modern English and German. Ablaut Class 1a. ei - i - i 1b. ei - ie - ie 2. ie - o - o 3a. i - a - u/o 3b. e - a - o 4. e - a - o 5. e/i - a - e 6. a - u - a 7. [x] - ie - [x]* German Examples beissen, biss, gebissen leiden, litt, gelitten bleiben, blieb, geblieben schreiben, schrieb, geschrieben fliegen, flog, geflogen ziehen, zog, gezogen finden, fand, gefunden beginnen, begann, begonnen helfen, half, geholfen befehlen, befahl, befohlen See Class 3b Same as 3b in modern German essen, a, gegessen bitten, bat, gebeten graben, grub, gegraben blasen, blies, geblasen freeze, froze, frozen shoot, shot, shot begin, began, begun sing, sang, sung win, won, won find, found, found break, broke, broken speak, spoke (spake), spoken eat, ate, eaten give, gave, given shake, shook, shaken fall, fell, fallen English Examples drive, drove, driven slide, slid, slid

*Class 7 verbs are uniform in having an ie past tense form, but the other vowels in the infinitive or past participle forms can vary: a/au/ei/o/u. See the chart for details. Exceptions Ausnahmen Odd verb patterns

German Strong Verbs

Ablaut Class 1b

Strong-verb vowel patterns in German

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Deutche forms There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 1. This class is further divided into a larger subgroup of verbs that follow the ei-i-i pattern. See Class 1a for those verbs. Class 1b: ei - ie - ie (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 1b - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - ei - ie - ie German Verb bleiben, blieb, geblieben gedeihen, gedieh, gediehen leihen, lieh, geliehen meiden, mied, gemieden reiben, rieb, gerieben scheiden, schied, geschieden scheinen, schien, geschienen schreiben, schrieb, geschrieben schreien, schrie, geschrie(e)n schweigen, schwieg, geschwiegen speien, spie, gespie(e)n steigen, stieg, gestiegen treiben, trieb, getrieben verzeihen, verzieh, verziehen weisen, wies, gewiesen English Meaning stay, stayed, stayed flourish, flourished, flourished loan. loaned, loaned avoid, avoided, avoided rub, rubbed, rubbed part, parted, parted shine, shone, shone write, wrote, written scream, screamed, screamed be silent, was silent, has been silent spew, spewed, spewed climb, climbed, climbed drive, drove, driven forgive, forgave, forgiven reject, rejected, rejected

German Strong Verbs

Ablaut Class 2

Strong-verb vowel patterns in German

There are seven main ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 2. Class 2: ie - o - o (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 2 - German

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Deutche forms German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - ie - o - o German Verb biegen, bog, gebogen bieten, bot, geboten fliegen, flog, geflogen fliehen, floh, geflohen flieen, floss, geflossen frieren, fror, gefroren genieen, genoss, genossen gieen, goss, gegossen kriechen, kroch, gekrochen riechen, roch, gerochen schieben, schob, geschoben schieen, schoss, geschossen schlieen, schloss, geschlossen sprieen, spross, gesprossen stieben, stob, gestoben verlieren, verlor, verloren ziehen, zog, gezogen The Two German Past Tenses The simple past and the present perfect bend, bent, bent offer, offered, offered fly, flew, flown flee, fled, fled flow, flowed, flowed freeze, froze, frozen enjoy, enjoyed, enjoyed pour, poured, poured crawl, crawled, crawled smell, smelled, smelled shove, shoved, shoved shoot, shot, shot close, closed, closed sprout, sprouted, sprouted spray, sprayed, sprayed lose, lost, lost pull, pulled, pulled English Meaning

Talking about the past in German

Although both English and German use the simple past tense (Imperfekt) and the present perfect tense (Perfekt) to talk about past events, there are some major differences in the way each language uses these tenses. If you need to know more about the structure and grammar of these tenses, see the links below. Here we will focus on when and how to use each past tense in German. The Simple Past (Imperfekt) We'll start with the so-called simple past because it's simple. Actually, it's called simple because it's a one-word tense (hatte, ging, sprach, machte) and isn't a compound tense like the present perfect (hat gehabt, ist gegangen, habe gesprochen, haben gemacht). To be precise and technical, the Imperfekt or narrative past tense refers to a past event that is not yet fully completed (Latin perfect), but I have never seen how this applies to its actual use in German in any practical way. However, it is sometimes useful to think of the narrative past as being used to describe a series of connected events in the past, i.e., a narrative. This is in contrast to the present perfect described below, which (technically) is used to describe isolated events in the past.

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Deutche forms Used less in conversation and more in print/writing, the simple past, narrative past, or imperfect tense is often described as the more formal of the two basic past tenses in German and it is found primarily in books and newspapers. Therefore, with a few important exceptions, for the average learner it is more important to recognize and be able to read the simple past than to use it. (Such exceptions include helping verbs such as haben, sein, werden, the modal verbs, and few others, whose simple past tense forms are often used in conversation as well as written German.) The German simple past tense may have several English equivalents. A phrase such as, er spielte Golf, can be translated into English as: he was playing golf, he used to play golf, he played golf, or he did play golf, depending on the context. As a general rule, the farther south you go in German Europe, the less the simple past is used in conversation. Speakers in Bavaria and Austria are more likely to say, Ich bin in London gewesen, rather than Ich war in London. (I was in London.) They view the simple past as more aloof and cold than the present perfect, but you should not be overly concerned about such details. Both forms are correct and most German-speakers are thrilled when a foreigner can speak their language at all! Just remember this simple rule for the simple past: it is used mostly for narration in books, newspapers, and written texts, less in conversation. Which brings us to the next German past tense... The Present Perfect (Perfekt) The present perfect is a compound (two-word) tense formed by combining an auxiliary (helping) verb with the past participle. Its name comes from the fact that the present tense form of the auxiliary verb is used, and the word perfect, which, as we mentioned above, is Latin for done/completed. (The past perfect [pluperfect, Plusquamperfekt] uses the simple past tense of the auxiliary verb.) This particular German past tense form is also known as the conversational past, reflecting its primary use in conversational, spoken German. Because the present perfect or conversational past is used in spoken German, it is important to learn how this tense is formed and used. However, just as the simple past is not used exclusively in print/writing, neither is the present perfect used only for spoken German. The present perfect (and past perfect) is also used in newspapers and books, but not as often as the simple past. Most grammar books tell you that the German present perfect is used to indicate that something is finished at the time of speaking or that a completed past event has results that continue into the present. That can be useful to know, but it is more important to recognize some of the major differences in the way the present perfect is used in German and English. For instance, if you want to express, I used to live in Munich in German, you can say, Ich habe in Mnchen gewohnt. a completed event (you no longer live in Munich). On the other hand, if you want to say, I have lived/have been living in Munich for ten years, you can't use the perfect tense (or any past tense) because you're talking about an event in the present (you are still living in Munich). So German uses the present tense (with schon seit) in this situation: Ich wohne schon seit zehn Jahren in Mnchen, literally I live since ten years in Munich. (A sentence structure that Germans sometimes mistakenly use when going from German to English!) English-speakers also need to understand that a German present perfect phrase such as, er hat Geige gespielt, can be translated into English as: he has played (the) violin, he used to play (the) violin, he played (the) violin, he was playing (the) violin, or even he did play (the) violin, depending on the context. In fact, for a sentence such as, Beethoven hat nur eine Oper komponiert, it would only be correct to translate it into the English simple past, Beethoven composed only one opera, rather than the English present perfect, Beethoven has composed only one opera. (The latter incorrectly implies that Beethoven is still alive and composing.) 5 of 12

Deutche forms To learn more about the two past tenses in German, see the following pages. German Regular Verbs
Past Tense Verb Conjugations

Introduction Regular German verbs follow an easy-to-learn and predictable pattern in both past tenses (simple past, present perfect). Once you learn the pattern for one regular German verb, you know how all German verbs are conjugated in the past. The irregular verbs don't follow the same rules in the past, but since most German verbs are regular, this makes your learning task somewhat simpler. The chart below shows a sample regular German verb in the simple past tense and the present perfect. All regular German verbs follow the same pattern. We have also included a helpful sample list of common regular verbs in German. The Basics (Simple Past) Any regular German verb uses the basic -te ending to form the simple past, similar to the -ed past ending in English. The past-tense ending is added to the verb stem exactly as in the present tense. He played thus becomes er spielte. To conjugate any regular verb in the simple past, you simply add the past-tense ending to the stem. As in the present tense, each person (he, you, they, etc.) requires its own ending on the verb. There are four (4) unique endings in the German simple past tense, one less than in the present tense (because the endings for ich and the third person are identical in the past). The simple past tense endings are: -te (ich, er/sie/es), -test (du), -tet (ihr), and -ten (Sie, wir, sie [pl.]). Unlike English, the past tense ending is not always the same: I played = ich spielte, we played = wir spielten. Now let's look at all the conjugations of spielen in the simple past tense. (To learn more about when to use the simple past versus the present perfect (below), see The Two German Past Tenses.) SPIELEN / TO PLAY Simple Past Tense - Imperfekt Deutsch ich spielte du spieltest er spielte sie spielte es spielte wir spielten ihr spieltet sie spielten Sie spielten English SINGULAR I played you (fam.) played he played she played it played we played you (guys) played they played you played Ich spielte Basketball. Spieltest du Schach? (chess) Er spielte mit mir. (with me) Sie spielte Karten. (cards) Es spielte keine Rolle. (It didn't matter.) PLURAL Wir spielten Basketball. Spieltet ihr Monopoly? Sie spielten Golf. Spielten Sie heute? (Sie, formal "you," is both singular and plural.) 6 of 12 Sample Sentence

Deutche forms The Basics (Present Perfect) All regular German verbs have a basic past participle form based on the third person singular form. The third person form of the verb spielen is (er) spielt. Add the ge- prefix to that and you get the past participle: gespielt. All regular verbs follow this same pattern: gesagt, gemacht, getanzt, etc. To form the present perfect tense, you take the past participle (gespielt/played) and use it with an auxiliary or helping verb (usually a form of haben, sometimes sein). The present perfect tense gets its name from the fact that you combine the present tense of the auxiliary verb with the participle to form the tense. (The past perfect is similar, using the past tense of the auxiliary verb.) In most cases, the past participle is placed at the end of the sentence: Wir haben die ganze Nacht getanzt. (We danced all night.) To say I have played (or I played) in the German present perfect, you say: Ich habe gespielt. After you study the chart below, you will grasp the idea even better. SPIELEN / TO PLAY Present Perfect Tense - Perfekt Deutsch English SINGULAR ich habe gespielt du hast gespielt er hat gespielt sie hat gespielt es hat gespielt I played I have played you (fam.) played you have played<BR< TD> he played he has played she played she has played it played it has played we played we have played you (guys) played you have played they played they have played you played you have played Ich habe Basketball gespielt. Hast du Schach gespielt? Er hat mit mir gespielt. Sie hat Karten gespielt. Es hat keine Rolle gespielt. (It didn't matter.) PLURAL wir haben gespielt ihr habt gespielt sie haben gespielt Sie haben gespielt Wir haben Basketball gespielt. Habt ihr Monoploy gespielt? Sie haben Golf gespielt. Haben Sie heute gespielt? Sample Sentence

Notice in the chart above that the German present perfect tense can be translated into English in two ways, with or without have. Also be careful to avoid the incorrect use of the German present perfect for English expressions like, I have lived in Frankfurt for five years (now). In German that would be expressed in the present tense with seit: Ich wohne seit fnf Jahren in Frankfurt.

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Deutche forms More Regular Verbs Notice the pattern? English answer ask build cost end hear say Deutsch antworten fragen bauen kosten enden hren sagen Simple Past antwortete* fragte baute kostete* endete* hrte sagte Past Participle geantwortet* gefragt gebaut gekostet* geendet* gehrt gesagt

*A regular verb whose stem ends in -d or -t adds a connecting e before the -te (past) or -t (past participle) ending. German Strong Verbs Ablaut Class 3

Strong-verb vowel patterns in German

There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 3a. Also see the Class 3b verbs (e - a - o). Class 3a: i - a - u/o (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 3a - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - i - a - u German Verb binden, band, gebunden dringen, drang, gedrungen finden, fand, gefunden gelingen, gelang, gelungen klingen, klang, geklungen ringen, rang, gerungen schlingen, schlang, geschlungen schwinden, schwand, geschwunden schwingen, schwang, geschwungen singen, sang, gesungen sinken, sank, gesunken tie, tied, tied press, pressed, pressed find, found, found succeed, succeeded, succeeded sound, sounded, sounded ring, rang, rung wrap, wrapped, wrapped dwindle, dwindled, dwindled vibrate, vibrated, vibrated sing, sang, sung sink sank, sunk 8 of 12 English Meaning

Deutche forms springen, sprang, gesprungen stinken, stank, gestunken trinken, trank, getrunken verschwinden, verschwand, verschwunden zwingen, zwang, gezwungen German Verb beginnen, begann, begonnen gewinnen, gewann, gewonnen rinnen, rann, geronnen schwimmen, schwamm, geschwommen German Strong Verbs Ablaut Class 3b win, won, won trickle, trickled, trickled swim, swam, swum spring, sprang, sprung stink, stank, stunk drink, drank, drunk disappear, disappeared, disappeared force, forced, forced Class 3: i - a - o English Meaning begin, began, begun

Strong-verb vowel patterns in German

There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 3b. Also see the Class 3a verbs (i - a - u/o). Class 3b: e - a/o - o (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 3b - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - e - a - o German Verb befehlen, befahl, befohlen bergen, barg, geborgen bersten, barst, geborsten brechen, brach, gebrochen gebren, gebar, geboren gelten, galt, gegolten helfen, half, geholfen nehmen, nahm, genommen schelten, schalt, gescholten schrecken, schrack, geschrocken sprechen, sprach, gesprochen English Meaning command, commanded, commanded rescue, rescued, rescued burst, bursted, bursted break, broke, broken give birth, gave birth, given birth apply, applied, applied (to) help, helped, helped take, took, taken scold, scolded, scolded frighten, frightened, frightened speak, spoke, spoken 9 of 12

Deutche forms stehlen, stahl, gestohlen sterben, starb, gestorben treffen, traf, getroffen verderben, verdarb, verdorben werden, wurde (ward), geworden werfen, warf, geworfen German Verb dreschen, drosch, gedroschen fechten, focht, gefochten flechten, flocht, geflochten quellen, quoll, gequollen schmelzen, schmolz, geschmolzen schwellen, schwoll, geschwollen German Strong Verbs Ablaut Class 5 Strong-verb vowel patterns in German There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 5. Class 5: e/i - a - e (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 5 - German

steal, stole, stolen die, died, died meet, met, met spoil, spoiled, spoiled become, became, become throw, threw, thrown Class 3b: e - o - o English Meaning thresh, threshed, threshed fence, fenced, fenced braid, braided, braided stream, streamed, streamed thaw, thawed, thawed swell, swelled, swollen

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - e - a - e German Verb essen, a, gegessen geben, gab, gegeben genesen, genas, genesen geschehen, geschah, geschehen lesen, las, gelesen messen, ma, gemessen sehen, sah, gesehen treten, trat, getreten eat, ate, eaten give, gave, given recuperate, recuperated, recuperated happen, happened, happened read, read, read measure, measured, measured see, saw, seen step, stepped, stepped 10 of 12 English Meaning

Deutche forms vergessen, verga, vergessen German Verb bitten, bat, gebeten liegen, lag, gelegen sitzen, sa, gesessen German Strong Verbs Ablaut Class 6 Strong-verb vowel patterns in German There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 6. Class 6: a - u - u (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 6 - German

forget, forgot, forgot Class 5: i/ie - a - e English Meaning request, requested, requested recline, reclined, reclined sit, sat, sat

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - a - u - a Also see irregular Class 6 verbs below. German Verb graben, grub, gegraben laden, lud, geladen schaffen, schuf, geschaffen tragen, trug, getragen dig, dug, dug load, loaded, loaded create, created, created carry, carried, carried Class 6: a - [a] - a The following verbs follow the Class 6 pattern only in part; the past tense form is weak. German Verb backen, backte (buk)*, gebacken fragen, fragte (frug)**, gefragt English Meaning bake, baked, baked ask, asked, asked English Meaning

*Although backen has a weak past in modern German, its past participle is strong. The strong past tense form buk is rarely used today. **The verb fragen is weak in modern German. The strong past tense form frug is rarely used today. mahlen, [mahlte], gemahlen salzen, [salzte], gesalzen German Strong Verbs 11 of 12 grind, gound, ground salt, salted, salted

Deutche forms Ablaut Class 7 Strong-verb vowel patterns in German There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Verbs in Class 7 are uniform in having an "[x]-ie-[x]" pattern in which the first and last forms have the same vowel/diphthong, while the center (past tense) form is always ie. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 7. Class 7: [x] - ie - [x] (German strong verbs listed alphabetically) Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown.
Ablaut Class 7 - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts (a-ie-a) German Verb Class 7: a - ie - a blasen, blies, geblasen braten, briet, gebraten fallen, fiel, gefallen halten, hielt, gehalten raten, riet, geraten schlafen, schlief, geschlafen laufen, lief, gelaufen heien, hiess, geheien stoen, stie, gestoen rufen, rief, gerufen blow, blew, blown roast, roasted, roasted fall, fell, fallen hold, held, held advise, advised, advised sleep, slept, slept Class 7: au - ie - au run, ran, run Class 7: ei - ie - ei be named, was named, has been named Class 7: o - ie - o bump, bumped, bumped Class 7: u - ie - u call, called, called Class 7: a/ - i - a/ Anomaly with i rather than ie fangen, fing, gefangen hngen, hing, gehangen catch, caught, caught hang, hanged, hanged English Meaning

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