GERMAN SENTENCES – SUMMARY

Zusammenfassung

The grammatical elements of a sentence stand in a certain order.

1. A main clause is a complete and independent sentence.

2. The conjugated verb in a main clause is always in the second position.
3. Usually, the subject is in the first position.
4. Sometimes, you can find the subject in the third position of a sentence.

The subject takes the third position, if another element is placed in the first position. Here are some examples:

 Local adverbs: “Auf der Rennbahn laufen die Hunde.”

 Temporal Adverbs: “Gestern liefen die Hunde auf der Rennbahn.”
 Accusative or dative objects: “Dem Hund schmeckt das Futter.”
 Pronouns in the accusative or dative: “Ihm schmerzt der verletzte Fuß.”
In case the verb is in the first position of a sentence, the sentence turns into a question. In many questions, the so called “W-
Wörter” are put at the beginning.
1. “Was essen die Hunde?” (What…)
2. “Wer rennt so schnell?” (Who…)
3. “Wo finden Hunderennen statt?” (Where…)
4. “Wie wird hier gewettet?” (How…)
In negative sentences, the negation-word “nicht” is often in the last position of the sentences or in front of the second part
of the predicate.
1. “Die Hunde laufen nicht.”
2. “Die Hunde laufen nicht um die Wette.”
3. “Die Hunde sind nicht gerannt.”
4. “Wettest du nicht?”
5. “Wettest du nicht auf den Hund?”
So, how was your day so far? Quite good, you say? Well, there is an easy way to change that. Maybe you will say that you are
a strong person, emotionally stable. But believe me, at the end of this article, you will understand me. You will look back at
this text and there will be some tears, but also a smile on your face. Exactly, a smile. Because you have done it.

So, let’s name the monster. This article will be about German sentences. Of course, there are rules about word order, but, you
know, there are also some exceptions. Well, many exceptions to be honest.

Nevertheless, your will to master this beautiful language is stronger than this. And hopefully I can help you to understand the
basics of German sentences in this article. So, to make it somewhat easier, I will structure this article into four chapters, which
in a whole, will give a complete idea of German sentences.

CONJUCTIONS WHICH INFLUENCE WORD ORDER

Konjunktionen, die die Satzstellung beeinflussen

So, we have reached the first point in this article, the conjunctions which change the word order in German sentences. Of
course, you all know that the regular word order in German sentences is the following.

 Subject – Verb – Object.

Now, there are conjunctions which change this word order. And, of course, there are some which don’t change anything. First,
the ones that don’t influence the word order in German sentences are called “coordinating conjunctions”. Here you have
some examples.
So, the conjunctions that do influence the word order are called “subordinating conjunctions”. In the following, I will show
you another table with some examples for this kind of conjunctions.

Now, let’s illustrate what I mean when I say that these conjunctions change the word order. So, as a general rule you can say
that the verb gets moved to the end of the clause, when a subordinate conjunction is used.
1. Coordinate Conjunction: “Aber er ist ein fauler Mann.”
– But he is a lazy man.
2. Subordinate Conjunction: “Ich mag ihn nicht, weil er ein fauler Mann ist.” – I don’t like him because he is a lazy
man.

Although this case might seem rather complicated, you will master it with some practice. Let’s come to the next point, the
position of the verb at the end of a German sentence.

THE POSITION OF THE VERB IN A GERMAN SENTENCE

Die Position eines Verbs in einem deutschen Satz
So, let’s come to the next topic of this article, the position of a verb in a German sentence. Well, in some cases, the verb of a
sentence simply has to be at the end of the sentence. Luckily, there are some rules determining these cases. Now, we will have
a look at the two most important ones. By the way, there is a golden rule you should always remember: The verb in a
German main sentence is always in the second position.

MODAL VERBS

For sure, all of you know what modal verbs in German are. If this is not the case, just click on the link and you will enter the
beautiful world of modal verbs in German. Nevertheless, let’s state that modal verbs can be described as “auxiliary verbs”.
The most common ones are…
 “müssen” – must
  “sollen” – shall
 “möchten” – like to do
 “können” – can
So, in German sentences, the verb always goes to the end of a sentence, if a modal verb is also used in this phrase. Maybe
this might seem rather strange to you – but hey, it is German. So stop asking questions.

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Well, in this case, we also have a clear rule. In a relative clause, the verb also goes to the end of the clause. Unfortunately,
it gets a bit more complicated. If there are two verbs in a relative cause, the main verb also goes to the end, while the
auxiliary verbs stays it its position. Yes, you have survived it – there are no more rules in this case. So, let’s see some
examples.
 “Das Geschenk, das ich meiner Mutter gekauft habe, ist nicht mehr in meinem Zimmer!” – The present I’ve
bought for my mother is not in my room anymore.
THE POSITION OF ADVERBS IN GERMAN SENTENCES
Die Position von Adverben in Deutschen Sätzen

Well, you are lucky – I have more rules for you. They are all about one topic, the inversion of German sentences. So, don’t let
us lose too much time – here is the most important rule that will tell you when you have to invert a German sentence.

Any time a temporal adverb or prepositional phrase comes at the beginning of the sentence, the verb has to come in the
second position.

Here are some examples that illustrate what this actually means.

 “Morgen fängt die Schule an.” – Tomorrow, school will start.

 “1939 fing der zweite Weltkrieg an.” – In 1939, the Second World War began.

Unfortunately, there are some more difficult parts. Sometimes, you put the object at the beginning of the sentence and invert it
to add emphasis on the object. For example…

 Seine Wohnung habe ich nie gemocht – Er hat einfach zu viele Katzen!

– I never likes his apartment – he simply has too many cats!
TEKAMOLO – WHEN, HOW, WHERE AND WHY IN GERMAN SENTENCES
Without any doubt “TeKaMoLo” plays an important role in the German sentences. This rule helps us to identify the word
order in a sentence.

TEKAMOLO – HOW IT WORKS

1. TEMPORAL – “Wann war es?” – (When was it?)

2. KAUSAL  – “Warum war es?” – (Why was it?)
3. MODAL  – “Wie war es?” – (How was it?)
4. LOCAL  – “Wo war es?” – (Where was it?)
TEKAMOLO – IN ACTION

In this example, we see all important parts of TeKaMoLo:

“Ich habe gestern wegen dem Besuch meiner Großeltern schnell zu Hause einen Kuchen gebacken.”
– (I have quickly baken a cake yesterday at home because of the visit of my grandparents.)

1. TEMPORAL: “gestern”
2. KAUSAL: “wegen dem Besuch meiner Großeltern”
3. MODAL: “schnell”
4. LOCAL: “zu Hause”

There is no fix rule for TeKaMoLo, it is only a guidance. Also here, you can be a little bit flexible. For example, if you want
to put the place as more important, then you can also put it in an earlier position in front of the verb.

THE INVERSION OF GERMAN SENTENCES

Die Inversion von Sätzen im Deutschen

Finally, we have come to the last topic of this article about German sentences. For sure, you all remember the basic word
order for German sentences:

 Subject – Verb – Indirect Object – Direct Object

Furthermore, you have to order the information you transmit in this sentence. Here, the order should be the following

 Time – Manner – Place

So, applying these rules to adverbs, you simply have to keep in mind that adverbs also have to follow this order. Finally, we
will have a look at an example sentence.
 “Vater ist heute nach Hause gekommen und sagte, dass er Pizza mitgebracht hat.
Ich musste mich beeilen, weil ich noch ein Stück davon abhaben wollte!”
– Today, dad came home and said that he brought pizza.
I had to hurry, because I still wanted a slide of it.
Well, let’s analyze this last (I promise, the last one!) example sentence. The modal verb “wollte” is at the end of the sentence,
since “weil” is this type of conjunction. Here, “dass” does the same thing, moving “hat” after “mitgebracht”.
So, I think this is enough to get the basics of German sentences. Luckily, there are some really useful rules that help you to
understand this rather complicated topic. Always keep practicing your vocabulary, keep in mind the rules and try to remember
exceptions. As a consequence, German might get a lot easier than you might think. And if not, have a look at this book by
Mark Twain with the title “The Awful German Language”. Here, you can find someone sharing your pain, so maybe it will
hurt less.
 PRESENT TENSE
The present tense is probably the most common tense used in German. It is used for actions which…
 … take place at the moment you are speaking
 … are timeless
 … repeat themselves
The present tense is formed by adding the corresponding ending (-e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en) to the word stem of the verb. There
are some vowel changes when going from first to second to third person. Just have a look at the following examples:
 “ich laufe – du läufst – er läuft”
 “ich trage – du trägst – er trägt”
The vowel of the stem turns from “e” to “i“.
 “ich sehe – du siehst – er sieht”
 “ich trete – du trittst – er tritt”
In case the stem ends with “-s“, the ending of the second the third person are the same.
 “lesen”: “du liest – er/sie/es liest”
exercises present tense

Welcome to language-easy.org! Well, as you have clicked on this article about the German present tense, I suppose that you
are ready to learn everything you need to know about this basic tense in the German language. So, this most commonly
used German tense united them all: Compared to the English language, the German present tense represents the simple
present, the present progressive. Even the Future tense can be expressed by the German present tense. So, although you might
think that this tense is not the big deal, you should master it due to its crucial importance.
In the following, I’d like to talk about the definition and correct usage of the German present tense. Furthermore, the
conjugation is an important part of this article. Unfortunately, there are also some exception in the conjugation of verbs in the
German present tense. But, don’t worry: We will talk about them in detail later on.

Now, let’s not use too much time and go straight to the first point of this article, the definition and correct usage of the
German present tense. Los geht’s!

DEFINITION AND USAGE OF GERMAN PRESENT TENSE

Definition und Anwendung des Präsens im Deutschen

Well, first of all we should clear up what the German present tense actually is. So, as I have already mentioned, this tense is
quite universal – you can use it in many circumstances.

The German present tense, or also called the simple present (“Präsens” in German), is used to talk about the present
and the future in German.

So, as I have already mentioned, this language stand for the progressive present and the simple present compared to the
English language. Furthermore, it is used to expresse the future! Well, in the following, I’d like to list the most important
ways of usage of the German present tense.

THE USAGE OF GERMAN PRESENT TENSE

 First, you use the German present tense to express a fact or condition in the present. Example: “Das ist
Philip.” – This is Philip
 Second, you can express an action that takes place in the present once, repeatedly, or never. Example: “Er
steht immer um 5 Uhr auf.” – He always gets up at 5am.
 Third, this tense expresses an action that expresses how long something has been going on. Example: “Philip
spielt seit sieben Jahren World of Warcraft.” – Philips plays World of Warcraft for seven years.
 Fourth and last, the German present tense expresses a future action that is already planned or agreed upon.
Example: “Nächsten Donnerstag fahre ich nach Hause.” – Next Thursday, I am going to go home.

So, as we have cleared up the usage of the German present tense, let’s come to the next topic of this article and talk about the
conjugation of verbs in the present tense.

THE CONJUGATION OF VERBS IN THE GERMAN PRESENT TENSE

Die Konjugation von Verben im Präsens im Deutschen
Now, we have reached the central topic of this article about the German present tense, the conjugation of verbs in this tense.
Unfortunately, there are irregular verbs and some exceptions, but don’t worry, we will talk about that later on in detail. So,
let’s come to the first table about the conjugation of regular verbs in the German present tense.
Unfortunately, the two most common verbs in the German language, “haben” (to have) and “sein” (to be) are irregular verbs.
Because of that, we will have a look at the correct conjugation of these two verbs in the following table.

Please, try to keep the irregular conjugation of “sein” and “haben” in mind! Well, they are simply of high importance in their
function of auxiliary verbs in different moods and tenses. And now, let’s talk about the exceptions in the conjugation of verbs
in the German present tense.

EXCEPTIONS

In the following, I’d like to list up all the exceptions in the conjugation of verbs in the German present tense.

1. First, if the word stem ends in d/t, we add an e before the endings ‘-st’ and ‘-t’.
“warten” – “du wartest”, “er wartet”, “ihr wartet”
2. Second, this doesn’t happen when the vowel changes. (In this case the t in the 3rd person singular ending also
disappears)
“laden” – “du lädst”, “er lädt”, “ihr ladet” (vowel change a to ä) “halten” – “du hältst”,”er hält”, “ihr haltet”
 3. Third, if the word stem ends in ‘s/ß/x/z’, we remove the s in the 2nd person singular ending.
“tanzen” – “du tanzt” (not: “tanzst”)
4. Fourth, if the word stem ends in ‘ie’, we remove the ‘e’ in the ending.
“knien” – “ich knie”, “wir knien”, “sie knien” (not: “knie”e, knieen”)
5. Fifth, the word stem changes in some strong verbs.
“lesen” – “ich lese”, “du liest”, “er liest”, “wir lesen”, “ihr lest”, “sie lesen”
6. Sixth, if the infinitive ends in ‘-eln/-ern’, we remove the ‘e’ in the ending.
“wandern” – “ich wandere”, “wir wandern”, “sie wandern”
7. Seventh and last, in the case of ‘-eln’, we can also leave off the e from the word stem in the 1st person singular.
“lächeln” –” ich läch(e)le”, “wir lächeln”, “sie lächeln”

THE PERFECT TENSE

By using verbs in the perfect tense you express that an action has taken place before the present and is part of the past. In
many cases, this action has a connection with the present. The perfect tense is compound tense. That means that you build it
by using the present tense form of the auxiliary verb (“haben” or “sein“) and the participle 2 of the main verb.
The following groups of verbs are built with the auxiliary verb “haben“:
 Transitive Verben: “Ich habe dich gesehen.”
 Modalverben: “Ich habe gekonnt.”
 Reflexive Verben: “Ich habe mich erinnert.”
How to form the participle 2:
1. Participle 2 of regular verbs: “ge”+ stem + “t”(“ge-lern-t”)
2. Participle 2 of irregular verbs: “ge”+ stem + “en” (“ge-gang-en”)
3. Verbs with fixed prefixes don’t use “ge-“: (“verschwunden, zerrissen”)
4. In case there are separable prefixes, “-ge-“ is introduced: (“aus-ge-kommen, fort-ge-laufen”)
exercises perfect tense
If you are a nostalgic person, this article is quite perfect for you.

So, have you noticed how I put “Perfect” and some kind of talk about the past in this sentence above? Well, apart from real
quality introductions, this article on language-easy.org we try to explain all you have to know about an essential part of
German grammar, the German perfect tense.
Unfortunately, especially this tense is of high importance. So, you won’t be able to skip this topic as you will need it to master
German. Well, you simply need it to express past situations and so make your German fluent! Although German
tenses confront you with a lot of irregular verbs, you will see that there are huge parts of regular verbs and clear rules that
make it easy to master this part of German grammar.

Well, let’s go straight to the most important part of this article. In the following, we will have a look at how you have to form
the perfect tense and specify its use. Auf geht’s!

WHAT IS THE GERMAN PERFECT TENSE?

 Was ist das deutsche Perfekt?

First of all, we should clear up what we are actually talking about! So, there are some parallels between the German perfect
tense and the English perfect tense.

Well, the English present perfect tense refers to an event that happened in the past but continues (or, well, maybe continues) in
the present.

 I ate two pizzas today.

 I have eaten two pizzas today.

Here, you can see the clear difference in meaning. Whereas the sentence in the past tense expresses that you ate two pizza in a
day and you won’t eat more, the perfect tense expresses that there is still space in your stomach for some more. So, as we have
understood how perfect tense works in English, there is some good news for German learners…

THERE IS NO SUCH PERFECT TENSE IN GERMAN!

Well, you don’t have to worry that this article ends at this point. Of course, there is something similar in German, also called
“das Perfekt”. So, there are many parallels to the English present perfect tense:

Both tenses use an auxiliary verb and they also use a past participle.

However, the way of using the German perfect tense is quite different to the English present perfect tense. On the one hand
side, “das Perfekt” refers to a past event or action which has been completed. On the other hand side, this German perfect
tense in the tense you mostly use in conversations. By the way, that’s why this language is of such a high importance to make
your German fluent.

FORMING AND USING GERMAN PERFECT TENSE

Das Formen und Benutzen des deutschen Perfekt.

Finally, we have reached the most important part of this article about German perfect tense. Here, we will have a look on how
to form the German tense and, of course, how to use it. Please, don’t be too sad by now. For sure, it will be far easier for you
as you might think.

THE AUXILIARY VERBS “HABEN” AND “SEIN”

Well, as we have already cleared up the upper section of this text, you need an auxiliary verb to form German perfect tense.
So, there are two auxiliary verbs you can use, depending on the context of the verb. So, I am talking about forms of “haben”
and “sein” in the present tense. By the way, there in another article about to conjugation of “haben” and “sein”.
 First, the forms of “haben” are the most common ones you normally use to form the German perfect tense.
Well, just keep that in mind when you form this tense.
 Second, the forms “sein” are used when you have expression with verbs of movement. Furthermore, you use
forms of “sein” with verbs of changing conditions. For example, “sterben” (to die) is one of these verbs.
So, there are only two important exceptions to these rules. Well, the verbs “bleiben” (to stay” and “sein” (to be) both use
“sein” as a auxiliary verb when formed in the German perfect tense.

THE PAST PARTICIPLE OF WEAK, STRONG AND MIXED VERBS

So, the second element you need to form the German perfect tense is the past participle of your main verb. Actually, it’s really
simple.

1. First, you just have to add the prefix ge- to the beginning of your infinitive verb.
2. After that, you cut off -en from the end of the verb.
3. Finally, you add -t instead of -en.

Well, let’s clear that up in two examples:

 “kaufen” (to buy) – “gekauft” – “Ich habe Pizza gekauft.” – I have bought Pizza.
 “beten” (to pray) – “gebetet” – “Ich habe um dich gebetet.” – I have prayed for you.
From this example sentence, you can see that the auxiliary verb always goes in the second position, as is always the case with
the TeKaMoLo rule (Temporal, Kausal, Modal, Lokal—the rule that governs the order of adverbial phrases in a sentence).

The only exception to this rule would be a sentence with a subordinating conjunction such as weil (because), which would
send the verb to the end.

Please, keep in mind that strong verbs are actually strong verbs because they an irregular past participle form. Furthermore,
when converting mixed verbs into their past participle forms, you change their stem. Well, you might ask yourself why I just
mention that point in a short paragraph. But, you simply have to learn these exceptions by heart, there is no rule that could
help you.

OTHER FORMS OF PAST PARTICIPLES

Finally, there are only some factors you should know to master German perfect tense left. First, you should know how to form
the past participle of separable verbs.

As the name implies, separable verbs are verbs with separable prefixes at the beginning that change the definition of the stem
verb.

Well, let’s clear that up in two examples:

 “aufhören” (to stop) – “aufgehört”

 “anrufen” (to pray) – “angerufen”

Do your best to memorize as many of these as possible, but remember, there’s always a dictionary or an app at your disposal
if you get stuck!
 THE PAST TENSE
By using a verb in the past tense, you express an action that took place in the past. The past tense is normally used for reports
or tales – so, especially for literature. In spoken language, people prefer using the perfect tense to express actions of the past.
When regular verbs are expressed  in the past tense, there is a “-t-” inserted into the stem. In case the stem ends with “-d” or
“-t“, you insert an extra “-e-“. Here are some examples:
 “spielen“: “ich spiel-t-e, du spiel-t-est, er/sie/es spiel-t-e, wir spiel-t-en, ihr spiel-t-et, sie spiel-t-en.”
 “reden“: “ich red-et-e, du red-et-est, er/sie/es red-et-e, wir red-et-en, ihr red-et-et, sie red-et-en.”
 “spotten“: “ich spott-et-e, du spott-et-est, er/sie/es spott-et-e, wir spott-et-en, ihr spott-et-et, sie spott-et-en.”
Irregular verbs in past tense have their stem changed. The first and the third person don’t have an extra ending.
 “fallen“: “ich fiel, du fiel-st, er/sie/es fiel, wir fiel-en, ihr fiel-t, sie fiel-en.”
 “geben“: “ich gab, du gab-st, er/sie/es gab, wir gab-en, ihr gab-t, sie gab-en.”
 “singen“: “ich sang, du sang-st, er/sie/es sang, wir sang-en, ihr sang-t, sie sang-en.”
exercises past tense

Welcome to language-easy.org! Well, as you have clicked on this article about the German past tense, I suppose that you are
ready to enter into this essential topic in German grammar. Although this type of expressing the past in German might not be
the most common one, you should master it. Especially in written texts and formal information like news reports, this German
tense is of very high importance.
Well, and for all the English experts, the German past tense can be compared to the English simple past. But, be careful! As
already mentioned, its usage is a lot different from the English simple past.

So, in the following I’d like to talk about the definition and the correct usage of the German past tense. Furthermore, we will
have a detailed look at the right conjugation of verbs in this tense and – typical for the German language – look at some
exceptions. Now, tighten your seat belts and… – Okay, I should not exaggerate too much… 😛

Now, let’s concentrate and come to this first point of this article, the definition and correct usage of the German past tense.

DEFINITION AND USAGE OF GERMAN PAST TENSE

Definition und Anwendung des Präteritums im Deutschen

Well, first of all we should clear up what the German past tense actually is. So, as I already told you, this tense can be
compared to the simple past in the English language. But, be careful! It’s usage in German is quite different from the one in
English. Anyway, first the definition of German past tense.

The German past tense or simple past or imperfect (in German you’d say “Präteritum”) is used to express facts and
actions that started and ended in the past.

So, actually we can split that up a little bit, just to make it clear in which circumstances the German past tense is used.

1. First, you can use the German past tense to express a completed action in the past.
“Ich fuhr mit dem Zug von Berlin nach München.” – I went from Berlin to Munich by train.
2. Second, you use this German tense to express a fact or condition in the past.
“Der Zug war sehr sauber.” – The train was very clean.
Of course, the correct usage of German past tense is not too difficult. Nevertheless, there is big difference, especially when
you compare its usage to the usage of the English simple past: Whereas in English, the simple past is used in everyday
language to express facts and actions in the past, in German, the present perfect is used in spoken language. However, it is
quite common to use the German past tense of the verbs “sein” (to be) and “haben” (to have) to express conditions and
facts on the past.
THE CONJUGATION OF GERMAN PAST TENSE
Die Konjugation des Präteritums im Deutschen
So, let’s come to the central aspect of this article about the German past tense. Well, it’s conjugation is actually not
too difficult. Unfortunately, the conjugation of the two most important verbs in German, “haben” (to have) and
“sein” (to be), is irregular. So, we will have a detailed look at the conjugation of these two verbs, too. Luckily, there
is a rule for conjugation of verbs in the German past tense:
Remove the infinitive ending “-en” and add the following endings for weak and strong/weak verbs.

So, for the endings in the German past tense, let’s have a look at the following table. Please, keep in mind that this
rule and the following conjugation is only valid for regular verbs.
Now, without losing too much time, let’s have a look at the irregular conjugations of the important verbs “haben”
and “sein”.

Well, as we have now cleared up the conjugation of verbs in the German past tense, let’s come to the most
uncomfortable section of this article, the exceptions.

EXCEPTIONS FROM THE CONJUGATION OF VERBS IN THE GERMAN PAST

TENSE
 First, Many strong/mixed verbs change the word stem in the simple past.
Example: “singen” – “sang”, “laufen” – “lief”
 Second, if the word stem of a strong verb ends in ‘s/ß/z’, we either leave off the ending ‘s’, or we add
an extra ‘e’. Example: “schließen” – “schloß” – “du schließt/du schloßest”
 Third, if the word stem ends in ‘d/t’, we add an e before the ending for endings that begin with ‘t/st’.
Example: “erhalten” –” ich erhielt”, “du erhieltest”, “er erhielt”, “wir erhielten”, …
  Fourth and last, if the word stem of a strong verb ends in ‘ie’, there is no ending ‘e’ in the
1st/3rd person plural. Example: “speien” – “ich spie”, “wir/sie spien” (not: “spiee”, “spieen”)

THE GERMAN PAST PERFECT – SUMMARY

Zusammenfassung
In case an action took place before an action in the past and it is related to that action, you use the past perfect
tense for this verb. You build this tense like the perfect by expressing the auxiliary verb (either “haben” or “sein”) in the past
tense and the main verb its participle 2 form. So, the auxiliary verb “sein” is turned into “war” and “haben” into “hatte“.
 “Ich hatte gesehen, du hattest gesehen, er/sie/es hatte gesehen, wir hatten gesehen, ihr hattet gesehen, sie
hatten gesehen.”
 “Ich war gegangen, du warst gegangen, er/sie/es war gegangen, wir waren gegangen, ihr wart gegangen, sie
waren gegangen.”
exercises past perfect

Welcome to language-easy.org! Well, as you have chosen this article about German past tense, I suppose that you want to
enter the depths of German tenses. Although this German tense is not as commonly used as the other two German tenses of
the past, you should master it anyway. Well, you should understand that its importance lies in written texts and, apart from
that, in formal language. So, especially in formal business emails or simply situations where a high level of German is
expected, it is important to dominate the correct use of the German past perfect.
So, in the following article I’d like to talk about what the German past tense actually is and also define its usage in some
detail. Furthermore, we will look the correct conjugation of verbs in the German past tense. Unfortunately, there are also some
exceptions in the context of the past participle – but don’t worry, we will try to cover all of them.
Now, let us not lose too much time and go straight to the first point of this article, the definition and the correct usage of the
German past tense. Los geht’s!

THE DEFINITION AND USAGE OF GERMAN PAST PERFECT

Definition und Anwendungs des Plusquamperfekts im Deutschen

First of all, I’d like to clear up what the German past perfect actually is. For sure, many of you are familiar with the past
perfect in the English language, so at least the definition and usage should be clear to you. Luckily, this English tense is quite
similar to the German one. Nevertheless, I have already mentioned that are some exceptions to the rule – but we’ll have a look
at them later on. So, what is the German past perfect?

The German past perfect or pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt in German) expresses actions that took place before a
certain point in the past. 

Well, and as I have already mentioned, it is mainly used written texts and formal situation and most important, in storytelling.
So, let’s have a look at an example, so that you can understand the correct usage of the German past perfect.

 “Philip hatte viel geübt, bevor er Fussball spielen konnte.” – Philip had practiced a lot before he was good at
playing soccer.

Of course, it is quite clear that in this example we use the German past perfect to describe an action before a certain point in
the past. And now, we will come to the next point in this article about German past tense and talk about its conjugation.

THE CONJUGATION OF GERMAN PAST PERFECT

DIe Konjugation des Plusquamperfekts im Deutschen

Now, we will have a look at the conjugation of the German past tense. Well, this might be the most difficult part of this
article, as there are some exceptions. But, don’t worry – we will try to name all of them. So, first we will talk about the
conjugation of the German past perfect. After that, we will to go into some details about the past participle and talk about
exceptions.

THE CONJUGATION OF THE GERMAN PAST PERFECT

So, the conjugation of the German past perfect is actually quite easy. Well, you just need the forms of “sein” (to be)
and “haben” (to have) in the simple past and then add the past participle.
Well, for now, the most important thing for you to understand  is the usage of the forms of “sein” and “haben”. Actually,
that’s not to complicated. So, let’s come to the second part necessary for conjugating the German past perfect, the past
participle.

THE GERMAN PAST PARTICIPLE

Actually, the construction of the German past participle isn’t such a big deal either. Well, you just have to keep in mind that it
is formed in different ways depending on whether we are conjugating a weak verb or a strong/mixed verb.

Well, there are also some exceptions in this context. So, in case you are interested in finding out more about the correct
construction of the German participle, just have a click on this article and language-easy.org will help you to master this topic
as well.

GERMAN FUTURE TENSES – SUMMARY

Zusammenfassung
1. FUTURE 1
By using the future 1 you express an action that will take place in the future. Forming this tense is quite simple:
You just use the auxiliary verb “werden” and put the infinitive of the main verb after it.
 “gewinnen“: “ich werde gewinnen, du wirst gewinnen, er/sie/es wird gewinnen, wir werden gewinnen, ihr
werdet gewinnen, sie werden gewinnen.”
 “verlieren“: “ich werde verlieren, du wirst verlieren, er/sie/es wird verlieren, wir werden verlieren, ihr werdet
verlieren, sie werden verlieren.”
2. FUTURE 2
The future 2 tense is not used too frequently in German. Nevertheless, you use verbs in this tense for expressing
that an action will have happened in the future. You build it by using the auxiliary verb “werden”, the participle
2 of the main verb and another auxiliary verb, “haben” or “sein”.
  “Morgen werde ich mein ganzes Geld verloren haben.”
 “Bald werden noch weitere Pflanzen ausgestorben sein”
exercises future

Hello everybody and welcome to this article about German future tenses and language-easy.org! Whether you want
to express events that will take place later on or you want to make plans – you need the German future tenses! Even
if you want to express desires or just tell your German prof when you will have handed in your assignment – these
tenses can be really useful.

Of course, you know how to form the future tense in your own language. But do you know how to form and use
them in German? Maybe, it’s a lot simpler for you as you might think.

In the following, we will have a look at some tables and examples that will show you everything you have to know
about German future tenses. By the way, we will need some basic knowledge about German grammar. In case you
don’t feel to prepared, just have a look at our articles about German word order and German verbs and their
conjugation. Furthermore, the article about the conjugation of “haben & sein” can be useful.

THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF GERMAN FUTURE TENSES

Well, you might have noticed that I’m always about German future tenses in plural. So, there are two kinds of
future tense in German. Luckily, their form and use are really different.

1. FUTUR 1
First of all, we have the “Futur 1”. As other German tenses, you can also compare it directly to its equivalent in English,
the future tense. Luckily, there are no other forms of future tense in German, although you have to keep in mind that
there is the futuristic present.
 2. FUTUR 2
Second, there is the “Futur 2” which has  its direct equivalent in the English language in the future perfect tense. Of
course, it also describes actions that will be completed in future actions.

In the following, we will have a close look at the exact construction and use of each one of the German future
tenses.

FORMS AND USE OF GERMAN FUTURE TENSES

Formen und Verwendung der Futurzeiten im Deutschen

Well, in this part of the article, we will have a look on the details of how to form and to use German future tenses.
Of course, you know by now that there is the “Futur 1” and the “Futur 2” tense. So, let’s start in a chronological
order and look at “Futur 1”.

FORMS AND USE OF “FUTUR 1”

First of all, the “Futur 1” tense expresses the intent to do something. So, you can actually compare it to the will-
future in the English language. Well, remember that – in English – you form the will-future by using ‘will’ and after
that the infinitive form of the verb.

Actually, in German its quite similar. Here, you use the different forms of the verb “werden” as an auxiliary verb
and after that the infinitive form of the main verb. Maybe you find this order quite useful.

 Subject – “werden” – infinitive 

Of course, you have to conjugate the verb “werden”. In the following, you will see a table of its conjugation in
the present tense.

“FUTUR 1”

So, place your subject first, then the corresponding conjugation of “werden”. After that, Follow regular German
rules of word order for words and phrases after the appropriate conjugation of “werden”. Finally, place the
infinitive of your main action verb at the very end. Well, let’s have a look at some example phrases which will
illustrate what I was talking about.

1. “Ich werde zur Schule gehen.” – I will go to school tomorrow.

2. “Sie wird morgen zu mir kommen.” – Tomorrow, she will come to my place.
3. “Wir werden bald da sein.” – We will be there soon.

Here, you can identify clearly the way of forming the first one of German future tenses. Actually, it’s really easy as
it is some similar to the will-future in the English language.

FORMS AND USE OF “FUTUR 2”

Finally, we come to the next form of German future tenses. The so called “Futur 2” expresses acts that will already
be done in the future. Well, actually, I have already used its English correlation in my first sentence. So, you see
that this form is not too hard to understand either.

So, the construction of this future tense is different from “Futur 1”. Of course, you have to put the subject first, then
a form of “werden”. After that, you need the past participle form of your main verb. Finally, you need the auxiliary
verb. For that, you can use “sein” or “haben”.

 subject – “werden” – past participle – helping verb

So, let’s try to order the different forms in the following table. For sure, you will notice that the forms of “werden”
are still the most important ones. Furthermore, you now have to master the past participle forms of your main verb.
Well, in this case will have use the verb “tun” (to do) and its past participle form “getan” (done).

“FUTUR 2”

Finally, let’s use the construction plan from above and the forms from the table to form some examples. Of course,
you will see that it’s not so difficult to apply this form of German future tenses.
 1. “Wir werden deutsche Zeiten gelernt haben.” – We will have learned German tenses.
2. “Ich werde bald vier Jahre zur Universität gegangen sein.” – Soon, I will have been four years in University.”
3. “Er wird sicher 200 Brezen gebacken haben!” – “For sure, he will have baked 200 Pretzels!

Exactly, German can be so easy sometimes. Well, I think you should have understood the different forms of
German future tenses by now. Hopefully, it also became clear for you, in which circumstances to use them.
 PRESENT TENSE
The present tense is probably the most common tense used in German. It is used for actions which…
 … take place at the moment you are speaking
 … are timeless
 … repeat themselves
The present tense is formed by adding the corresponding ending (-e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en) to the word stem
of the verb. There are some vowel changes when going from first to second to third person. Just have a
look at the following examples:
 “ich laufe – du läufst – er läuft”
 “ich trage – du trägst – er trägt”
The vowel of the stem changes from “e” to “i“.
 “ich sehe – du siehst – er sieht”
 “ich trete – du trittst – er tritt”
In case the stem ends with “-s“, the ending of the second and the third person are the same.
 “lesen”: “du liest – er/sie/es liest”
THE PERFECT TENSE
By using verbs in the perfect tense you express that an action has taken place before the present and is
part of the past. In many cases, this action has a connection with the present. The present tense is a
compound tense. That means that you build it by using the present tense form of the auxiliary verb
(“haben” or “sein“) and the participle 2 of the main verb.
The following groups of verbs are built with the auxiliary verb “haben“:
 Transitive verbs: “Ich habe dich gesehen.”
 Modal verbs: “Ich habe gekonnt.”
 Reflexive verbs: “Ich habe mich erinnert.”
How to form the participle 2:
1. Participle 2 of regular verbs: “ge”+ stem + “t” (“ge-lern-t”)
2. Participle 2 of irregular verbs: “ge”+ stem + “en” (“ge-gang-en”)
3. Verbs with fixed prefixes don’t use “ge-“: (“verschwunden, zerrissen”)
4. In case there are separable prefixes, “-ge-“ is introduced: (“aus-ge-kommen, fort-ge-laufen”)
THE PAST TENSE
By using a verb in the past tense, you express an action that took place in the past. The past tense is
normally used for reports or tales – so, especially for literature. In spoken language, people prefer using
the perfect tense to express actions of the past.
When regular verbs are expressed  in the past tense, there is a “-t-” inserted after the stem. In case the
stem ends with “-d” or “-t“, you insert an extra “-e-“. Here are some examples:
 “spielen“: “ich spiel-t-e, du spiel-t-est, er/sie/es spiel-t-e, wir spiel-t-en, ihr spiel-t-et, sie spiel-t-en.”
 “reden“: “ich red-et-e, du red-et-est, er/sie/es red-et-e, wir red-et-en, ihr red-et-et, sie red-et-en.”
 “spotten“: “ich spott-et-e, du spott-et-est, er/sie/es spott-et-e, wir spott-et-en, ihr spott-et-et, sie spott-
et-en.”
Irregular verbs in past tense have their stem changed. The first and the third person don’t have an extra
ending.
 “fallen“: “ich fiel, du fiel-st, er/sie/es fiel, wir fiel-en, ihr fiel-t, sie fiel-en.”
 “geben“: “ich gab, du gab-st, er/sie/es gab, wir gab-en, ihr gab-t, sie gab-en.”
 “singen“: “ich sang, du sang-st, er/sie/es sang, wir sang-en, ihr sang-t, sie sang-en.”
THE PAST PERFECT
In case an action took place before an action in the past, you use the past perfect tense for the verb. You
build this tense by expressing the auxiliary verb (either “haben” or “sein”) in the past tense and the main
verb in its participle 2 form. So, the auxiliary verb “sein” is turned into “war” and “haben” into “hatte“.
 “Ich hatte gesehen, du hattest gesehen, er/sie/es hatte gesehen, wir hatten gesehen, ihr hattet
gesehen, sie hatten gesehen.”
 “Ich war gegangen, du warst gegangen, er/sie/es war gegangen, wir waren gegangen, ihr wart
gegangen, sie waren gegangen.”
THE FUTURE TENSES
1. FUTURE 1
By using the future 1, you express an action that will take place in the future. Forming this tense is quite
simple: You just use the auxiliary verb “werden” and put the infinitive of the main verb after it.
 “gewinnen“: “ich werde gewinnen, du wirst gewinnen, er/sie/es wird gewinnen, wir werden gewinnen,
ihr werdet gewinnen, sie werden gewinnen.”
 “verlieren“: “ich werde verlieren, du wirst verlieren, er/sie/es wird verlieren, wir werden verlieren, ihr
werdet verlieren, sie werden verlieren.”
2. FUTURE 2
The future 2 tense is not used too frequently in German. Nevertheless, you use verbs in this tense for
expressing that an action will have happened in the future. You build it by using the auxiliary verb
“werden”, the participle 2 of the main verb and another auxiliary verb, “haben” or “sein”.
 “Morgen werde ich mein ganzes Geld verloren haben.”
 “Bald werden noch weitere Pflanzen ausgestorben sein.”

TABULAR OVERVIEW OF GERMAN TENSES AND MOODS

Tabularische Übersicht über Zeiten und Modi im Deutschen
First of all, we will have a look at German tenses and moods in some tables. So, for this we will use the German
word “machen” (to do) in the first person singular. Please, keep in mind that there are tenses in German which don’t exist in
this form in the English language. Nevertheless, most of them are quite similar. So, let’s go straight ahead to our first table. By
the way – don’t panic if you don’t know everything about every German tense or mood in these tables – later on, we will
explain them.

Unfortunately, German tenses are not exactly the same as in English. So, you can find the differences especially in the way
one uses them. In particular, “Präsens” and “Perfekt” are the tenses for present and past. Of course, you know that their use
in the English language is somewhat different.
 THE DESCRIPTION OF GERMAN MOODS
Die Beschreibung der Modi im Deutschen

So, let’s talk about the moods we have seen in the tables above. They are a little bit easier to describe, so we will start with
them.

1. First, the “Indikativ” is the ‘normal’ and so most commonly used mood used in English as well as in German. Well,
you simply use it to describe the reality! Or just to express it in an easier way: Things which happen, happened, will
happen or are expected to happen.
2. Second, you use the “Konjunktiv 1” in indirect or reported speech. Mostly, it appears in German news reports. Well,
this mood is not really of high importance, as you normally don’t use it in written or spoken language. By the way, there
is no real counterpart in the English language.
3. Third, the “Konjunktiv 2” is the more popular type and can be compared to the conditional mood in the English
language. Of course, you all know that it describes things that might happen. And there is another similarity to the
English conditional mood: You can replace the auxiliary verb “would” by a form of “werden” in German.
4. Fourth and last, the “Imperativ” is the form that expresses orders. Luckily, you just have to learn the second person
form of a verb in present tense and you are done.
Although “Konjunktiv 1” is not a really important mood, you will have to suffer from it in German classes anyway. And as
there is no comparison to the English subjunctive or conditional, there is no other way to master this topic than learn and
practice.

THE DESCRIPTION OF GERMAN TENSES

Die Beschreibung der Zeiten im Deutschen

Now, let’s come to the most important part of this article. So, German tenses are actually quite comparable to the tenses in the
English language. Nevertheless, there are differences in their use, as already mentioned above. So, here are the descriptions of
German tenses.

PRESENT TENSE

First, the “Präsens” is comparable to the simple past in the English language. Of course, it represents also other tenses of
English. On the one hand, you can use it like the continuous forms we use in English. On the other hand, it can also express a
type of future actions. Well, in this case you call it futuristic present and it has its equivalent in English. Nevertheless, German
speakers use it more frequently in everyday language.

SIMPLE PAST AND PERFECT

Second, “Präteritum” and “Perfekt” are the two tenses that German speakers use to express actions in the past. But, as I
have already mentioned, forms of Präteritum are not so common as forms of Perfekt. Nevertheless, learn the forms of
Präteritum. Well, this German tense still occurs in some written and spoken language and its forms can sometimes be
complicated.

PLUSQUAMPERFEKT

Third, you can compare the “Plusquamperfekt” directly to the past perfect in the English language. So, this German tense, as
well as the English one, expresses actions which are already completed in some point of the past.

FUTUR 1

Fourth, we have the “Futur 1”. Like other German tenses, you can also compare it directly to its equivalent in English, the
future tense. Luckily, there are no other forms of future tense in German, although you have to keep in mind that there is the
futuristic present.

FUTUR 2

Fifth and last, the “Futur 2” has its direct equivalent in the English language in the future perfect tense. Of course, it also
describes actions that will be completed in future actions.