The present tense
Weak and strong verbs in every person, the stem changes in du fährst, er liest and sie nimmt, and the present used for the future.
Learn
The present tense, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Find the stem of a verb
Almost every German infinitive ends in -en: take it off to find the stem. Spielen gives spiel-, wohnen gives wohn-. A few end in -n alone, and lose only that: wandern gives wander-, tun gives tu-.
Add the present tense endings
The endings are -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en: ich spiele, du spielst, er spielt, wir spielen, ihr spielt, sie spielen. The polite Sie takes the same ending as sie they: Spielen Sie Tennis?
Add an extra e after a stem ending in t or d
A stem that ends in t or d adds e before -st and -t, so the ending can be heard: du arbeitest, er findet, ihr wartet. A stem ending in s, ß or z adds only -t for du: du heißt, du tanzt.
Change the vowel of a strong verb for du and er, sie, es
Many strong verbs change their vowel in the du and er forms only. e becomes i: geben, du gibst, er gibt (also essen, nehmen, sprechen, helfen). e becomes ie: sehen, er sieht, lesen, er liest. a becomes ä: fahren, er fährt, schlafen, laufen, er läuft. Every other person is regular: wir fahren.
Use one present tense for what you do and what you are doing
German has no separate form for I am doing: ich lese means I read or I am reading. It also gives habits, with a time phrase: Am Wochenende arbeite ich in einem Café.
Use the present with a time word for the future
With a word that sets the time ahead, the present can mean the future: Morgen fahre ich nach Berlin is Tomorrow I am going to Berlin. Nächste Woche, am Samstag and bald work the same way.
Choose between du, ihr and Sie
Du is one friend, child or family member; ihr is two or more of them; Sie (with a capital) is the polite you for one adult or several. Each has its own verb form: du kommst, ihr kommt, Sie kommen.
The present tense key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Infinitive
- The dictionary form of a verb, ending in -en or -n: spielen to play, wandern to hike.
- Stem
- The infinitive without its -en: spiel-. The endings are added to it.
- Weak verb
- A regular verb, whose stem never changes: machen, wohnen, kaufen.
- Strong verb
- A verb whose stem vowel changes, in the present for du and er (fahren, er fährt) and in its past forms.
- Subject
- Who or what does the action, and decides the ending: in Mein Bruder spielt Fußball the subject is mein Bruder.
- du, ihr and Sie
- The three words for you: one person you know well, several you know well, and anyone you address politely.
- Conjugate
- To give a verb the ending that matches its subject and tense: wohnen for wir in the present is wir wohnen.
Common mistakes in The present tense
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Leaving the verb in the infinitive, as in Ich spielen Tennis.
Every verb in a sentence takes its ending: take off -en and add the one for the person, Ich spiele Tennis.
Forgetting the vowel change, as in er fahrt or du esst.
Strong verbs change their vowel for du and er: er fährt, du isst, sie liest. Learn the change with the verb.
Translating I am playing word for word, as in Ich bin spielen.
The plain present already means I am playing: Ich spiele.
Giving the vowel change to wir or ihr, as in wir fähren.
Only du and er, sie, es change: wir fahren, ihr fahrt.
Practice
Try a The present tense question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which form of arbeiten completes the sentence? Mein Vater ___ in einem Krankenhaus.
- arbeitet
- arbeit
- arbeitt
- arbeiten
Show the answer and the working
Answer: arbeitet
When a stem ends in -t or -d, German adds an e before the ending so you can hear it: Mein Vater arbeitet in einem Krankenhaus, my dad works in a hospital.
- Mein Vater is he, so the ending is -t.
- The stem arbeit- already ends in t.
- German adds an e: arbeitet.