Conjugation of irregular verbs (strong verbs) in German
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Conjugation of irregular verbs (strong verbs) in German
Lesson Outline
HideGerman strong verbs
In German there are approximately 200 irregular verbs (also called strong verbs), many of which are part of the basic German vocabulary. When a strong verb is conjugated the vowel of its word stem is changed. There are three different possibilities:
- Vowel changes from e to i
- Vowel change from e to ie
- Vowel change from a to ä
See the conjugation of them in the next chapters.
Verbs with a vowel change
In the present tense a vowel change only happens in the 2. and 3. person singular. In plural the conjugation is identical with those of regular verbs.
Vowel changes from e to i
| Personal form | helfen (to help) |
|---|---|
| ich (I) | helfe |
| du (you) | hilfst |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | hilft |
| wir (we) | helfen |
| ihr (you (pl.)) | helft |
| sie/Sie (they) | helfen |
The following verbs have a vowel change from e to i:
- ab/nehmen (to take (off)) - du nimmst (ab) ; er/sie/es nimmt (ab)
- aus/brechen (to break (out)) - du brichst (aus) ; er/sie/es bricht (aus)
- erschrecken (to be scared) - du erschrickst ; er/sie/es erschrickt
- essen (to eat) - du isst ; er/sie/es isst
- fressen (to eat) - du frisst ; er/sie/es frisst
- geben (to give) - du gibst ; er sie es gibt
- gelten (to count) - er/sie/es gilt
- helfen (to help) - du hilfst ; er/sie/es hilft
- messen (to messure) - du misst ; er/sie/es misst
- sprechen (to speak) - du sprichst ; er/sie/es spricht
- sterben (to die) - du stirbst ; er/sie/es stirbt
- treffen (to meet) - du triffst ; er/sie/es trifft
- treten (to kick) - du trittst ; er/sie/es tritt
- vergessen (to forget) - du vergisst ; er/sie/es vergisst
- werfen (to throw) - du wirfst ; er/sie/es wirft
Vowel change from e to ie
| Personal form | sehen (to see) |
|---|---|
| ich (I) | sehe |
| du (you) | siehst |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | sieht |
| wir (we) | sehen |
| ihr (you (pl.)) | seht |
| sie/Sie (they) | sehen |
The following verbs have a vowel change from e to ie:
- befehlen (to command) - du befiehlst ; er/sie/es befiehlt
- empfehlen (to recommend) - du empfiehlst ; er/sie/es befiehlt
- geschehen (to happen) - es geschieht
- lesen (to read) - du liest ; er/sie/es liest
- sehen (to see) - du siehst ; er/sie/es sieht
- stehlen (to steal) - du stiehlst ; er/sie/es stiehlt
Vowel change from a to ä
| Personal form | fahren (to drive) |
|---|---|
| ich | fahre |
| du | fährst |
| er/sie/es | fährt |
| wir | fahren |
| ihr | fahrt |
| sie/Sie | fahren |
The following verbs have a vowel change from a to ä:
- blasen (to blow) - du bläst ; er/sie/es bläst
- fahren (to drive) - du fährst ; er/sie/es fährt
- fangen (to catch) - du fängst ; er/sie/es fängt
- graben (to dig) - du gräbst ; er/sie/es gräbt
- halten (to hold) - du hälst ; er/sie/es hält
- lassen (to let) - du lässt ; er/sie/es lässt
- laufen (to walk) - du läufst ; er/sie/es läuft
- schlafen (to sleep) - du schläfst ; er/sie/es schläft
- schlagen (to punch) - du schlägst ; er/sie/es schlägt
- tragen (to carry) - du trägst ; er/sie/es trägt
- waschen (to wash) - du wäscht ; er/sie/es wäscht
In the following chapters you can see the conjugations of the most important German irregular verbs
Exercises
Exercise: German irregular verbs
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