German Verb Conjugation: The Complete Beginner's Guide
Learn the pattern once and conjugate thousands of German verbs.
In English, verb conjugation is simple: "I go, you go, he goes" — one small change. In German, the verb changes form for each pronoun. But here is the key: the pattern is consistent, and once you learn the template, you can conjugate any regular verb.
The Present Tense Pattern
Regular German verbs take specific endings for each pronoun. Using "lernen" (to learn):
- 1ich lerne — I learn
- 2du lernst — you learn (informal)
- 3er/sie/es lernt — he/she/it learns
- 4wir lernen — we learn
- 5ihr lernt — you (plural) learn
- 6sie/Sie lernen — they / you (formal) learn
Irregular Verbs (Strong Verbs)
About 200 common German verbs are irregular — their stem vowel changes for du and er/sie/es forms. The most important: sein (to be) and haben (to have) are completely irregular and must be memorized.
Separable Verbs
Many German verbs have a prefix that splits off and moves to the end of the sentence. "aufstehen" (to get up) → "Ich stehe um 7 auf." This prefix system lets German create nuanced meanings from simple roots.