A1 · The verb: present tense and stem
The present tense
ich komme, du kommst, er kommt
Five endings on a stem — and one tense doing the work of two English ones.
Take the infinitive, remove the -en, and what is left is the stem: kommen gives komm-. The endings go on that: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en for ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie. Three of the six are -en or -t, so there are fewer distinct forms than persons.
The German present covers both English presents. Ich arbeite is "I work" and "I am working" — German has no progressive and does not miss it, because a time word or the situation says which is meant. This is a simplification for the learner and a trap for the writer: do not look for a form that is not there.
It also does duty for the future. Morgen fahre ich nach Berlin is "I am going to Berlin tomorrow" and is the ordinary way to say it. The dedicated future with werden exists but is used less than English speakers expect.
Die Form
| ich | komme |
| du | kommst |
| er / sie / es | kommt |
| wir / sie / Sie | kommen |
| ihr | kommt |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
The endings go on the stem, which is the infinitive minus -en.
wir spielen, ich spielewe play, I play
A stem ending in -t, -d or a consonant cluster adds an -e- before -st and -t, so the ending can be heard.
du arbeitest, er findetyou work, he finds
A stem ending in -s, -ß, -z or -x takes only -t in the du form, not -st.
du heißt, du tanztyou are called, you dance
One present tense covers "I work" and "I am working". There is no progressive form.
Ich lese gerade ein Buch.I am reading a book at the moment.
Genauer hingesehen
Why the endings are worth the fortnight
Six endings look like a cost with no return, and in a simple sentence they are: ich komme says "I" twice. The return comes later, when German starts moving words around. Because the verb agrees with the subject and the subject is marked by case, the sentence can put anything first without becoming ambiguous.
English pays for its missing endings in a different currency: fixed word order and a large stock of auxiliary verbs. Neither language is doing less work — they are spending it in different places, and the endings are where German spends it.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
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the verb is sein
nothing about the pattern applies: ich bin, du bist, er ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie sind.
Ich bin müde und du bist es auch.I am tired and so are you.
Sein is assembled from more than one older verb, which is why the forms do not resemble each other — and it is the same reason English has "am", "is" and "are".
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the verb is a strong verb with a changing vowel — fahren, geben, sehen, lesen, nehmen, schlafen
the du and er forms change the vowel, and only those two.
ich fahre, du fährst, er fährt, wir fahrenI drive, you drive, he drives, we drive
An older sound change affected exactly those two endings and left the others alone.
Woran man es erkennt
- -e
- -st
- -t
- -en
- gerade
- immer
- jeden Tag
Beispielsätze
Ich wohne in Hamburg.I live in Hamburg.
Was machst du am Wochenende?What are you doing at the weekend?
Der Zug kommt um sieben an.The train arrives at seven.
Wir arbeiten zusammen.We work together.
Morgen fliege ich nach Wien.I am flying to Vienna tomorrow.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Wie heißt du?What is your name?
Er arbeitet bei einer Bank.He works at a bank.
Ihr kommt zu spät.You are late.
Sie studiert Medizin.She is studying medicine.
Wir finden das gut.We think that is good.
Das Geschäft öffnet um neun.The shop opens at nine.
Ich verstehe das nicht.I don't understand that.
Nächste Woche fangen die Ferien an.The holidays start next week.
Besonderheiten (2)
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Sie with a capital letter is the polite you
German has three words for "you": <z>du</z> to one person you are familiar with, <z>ihr</z> to several, and <z>Sie</z> to anybody else. <z>Sie</z> takes the same verb form as the plural <z>sie</z> and is written with a capital, which is the only thing telling the two apart on paper. Getting it wrong is the most audible mistake a foreigner makes in German, because it is about the relationship rather than the grammar.
Wie heißen Sie? – Wie heißt du?What is your name? (formal / informal)
-
The extra -e- is there to be heard
A stem ending in <z>-t</z> or <z>-d</z> would make <z>arbeitst</z> and <z>findt</z>, which cannot be pronounced cleanly, so an <z>-e-</z> goes in: <z>du arbeitest</z>, <z>er findet</z>. This is not an irregularity but a spelling that follows the mouth, and the same instinct produces <z>du atmest</z> and <z>er rechnet</z>.
du arbeitest, er findet, ihr wartetyou work, he finds, you wait
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
There is no German progressive, and building one out of sein plus an infinitive produces something that is not a sentence. If you need to stress that something is happening right now, German uses a word — gerade, im Moment — not a form. Ich arbeite gerade is the sentence English would build with a tense.
One present tense, two English ones. Use a time word, not a form.
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