Conjugation of irregular verbs (strong verbs) in German
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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.
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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
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