Читать книгу German Unlocked. Your Complete Guide to B2 Proficiency - - Страница 5

Verbs are the action words in a sentence. They tell us what the subject is doing. In this chapter, we’ll focus on conjugating verbs in the present tense, which is used to describe actions happening now or habitual actions.

Verb Conjugation: The Basics

Verb conjugation means changing the form of a verb to match the subject pronoun. In German, verbs are conjugated based on the person (ich, du, er/sie/es, etc.) and number (singular or plural).

Regular Verb Conjugation

Most German verbs are regular, meaning they follow a predictable pattern of conjugation. Here’s the general pattern:

Find the stem: Take the infinitive form of the verb (the form ending in “-en» or “-n») and remove the “-en» or “-n» ending. This leaves you with the verb stem.

Add the correct ending: Add the appropriate ending to the stem based on the subject pronoun.

Here’s an example using the verb «machen» (to make/do):

Infinitive: machen (mah-hen)

Stem: mach-

Now, let’s add the endings:

ich mache (ihh mah-he) – I make/do

du machst (doo mahhst) – you make/do (informal, singular)

er/sie/es macht (air/zee/es mahht) – he/she/it makes/does

wir machen (veer mah-hen) – we make/do

ihr macht (eer mahht) – you make/do (informal, plural)

sie/Sie machen (zee/zee mah-hen) – they make/do / you make/do (formal)

Common Regular Verbs

Here are a few more common regular verbs:

wohnen (vo-nen) – to live

spielen (shpee-len) – to play

lernen (ler-nen) – to learn

arbeiten (ar-bai-ten) – to work

Example Conjugations:

wohnen: ich wohne, du wohnst, er/sie/es wohnt, wir wohnen, ihr wohnt, sie/Sie wohnen

spielen: ich spiele, du spielst, er/sie/es spielt, wir spielen, ihr spielt, sie/Sie spielen

Irregular Verb Conjugation

Some German verbs are irregular, meaning they don’t follow the regular pattern. These verbs often change their stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms.

Common Irregular Verbs:

sein (zain) – to be

haben (hah-ben) – to have

essen (es-sen) – to eat

trinken (trin-ken) – to drink

sprechen (shpre-hen) – to speak

Conjugations of «sein» and «haben»

These are extremely important verbs, so memorize them!

sein (to be):

ich bin (ihh bin) – I am

du bist (doo bist) – you are (informal, singular)

er/sie/es ist (air/zee/es ist) – he/she/it is

wir sind (veer zint) – we are

ihr seid (eer zait) – you are (informal, plural)

sie/Sie sind (zee/zee zint) – they are / you are (formal)

haben (to have):

ich habe (ihh hah-be) – I have

du hast (doo hahst) – you have (informal, singular)

er/sie/es hat (air/zee/es haht) – he/she/it has

wir haben (veer hah-ben) – we have

ihr habt (eer hahpt) – you have (informal, plural)

sie/Sie haben (zee/zee hah-ben) – they have / you have (formal)

Conjugations of «essen», «trinken», «sprechen» As you can see, the du and er/sie/es forms of these verbs change their stem vowel

essen (to eat):

ich esse (ihh es-se) – I eat

du isst (doo isst) – you eat (informal, singular)

er/sie/es isst (air/zee/es isst) – he/she/it eats

wir essen (veer es-sen) – we eat

ihr esst (eer esst) – you eat (informal, plural)

sie/Sie essen (zee/zee es-sen) – they eat / you eat (formal)

trinken (to drink):

ich trinke (ihh trin-ke) – I drink

du trinkst (doo trinkst) – you drink (informal, singular)

er/sie/es trinkt (air/zee/es trinkt) – he/she/it drinks

wir trinken (veer trin-ken) – we drink

ihr trinkt (eer trinkt) – you drink (informal, plural)

sie/Sie trinken (zee/zee trin-ken) – they drink / you drink (formal)

sprechen (to speak):

ich spreche (ihh shpreh-he) – I speak

du sprichst (doo shprihst) – you speak (informal, singular)

er/sie/es spricht (air/zee/es shpriht) – he/she/it speaks

wir sprechen (veer shpreh-hen) – we speak

ihr sprecht (eer shpreht) – you speak (informal, plural)

sie/Sie sprechen (zee/zee shpreh-hen) – they speak / you speak (formal)

Using Verbs in Sentences

Here are some examples of using verbs in simple sentences:

Ich wohne in Berlin. (ihh vo-ne in ber-leen) – I live in Berlin.

Du spielst Fußball. (doo shpeelst foos-bal) – You play soccer.

Er arbeitet in einem Büro. (air ar-bai-tet in ai-nem bü-ro) – He works in an office.

Wir lernen Deutsch. (veer ler-nen doitch) – We are learning German.

Ich bin müde. (ihh bin mü-de) – I am tired.

Sie hat einen Hund. (zee haht ai-nen hoont) – She has a dog.

Word Bank

machen (mah-hen) – to make/do

wohnen (vo-nen) – to live

spielen (shpee-len) – to play

lernen (ler-nen) – to learn

arbeiten (ar-bai-ten) – to work

sein (zain) – to be

haben (hah-ben) – to have

essen (es-sen) – to eat

trinken (trin-ken) – to drink

sprechen (shpre-hen) – to speak

Exercises

Conjugate the following regular verbs in the present tense: kaufen (to buy), tanzen (to dance), hören (to hear).

Conjugate the verbs sein and haben in the present tense.

Fill in the correct form of the verb in the present tense:

Ich ______ (wohnen) in Köln.

Du ______ (spielen) Gitarre.

Er ______ (arbeiten) als Lehrer.

Wir ______ (lernen) Deutsch.

Sie ______ (sein) freundlich.

Ich ______ (haben) ein Auto.

Translate the following sentences into German:

I live in a house.

You speak English.

He works as a doctor.

We are learning German together.

She is happy.

They have a cat.

That completes Chapter 4! You now have a solid foundation in present tense verb conjugation. Next, we’ll tackle some essential phrases and questions!