Irregular Verbs
Spoken Description
Unregelmäßige Verben: Übersicht, Bildung und Übung. Lerne häufige unregelmäßige Verben im Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt plus Ausnahmen, die wichtigsten Verben im Überblick, Übungsaufgaben und Tipps zur Anwendung.
Irregular Verbs: Overview, conjugation, and practice. Learn common irregular verbs in present, past, perfect, plus exceptions, key verbs, exercises, and tips for correct use and practice.
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Irregular verbs in German often change their stem vowel in the present tense and can follow unique patterns in the past and past participle forms. This guide focuses on the common high-frequency verbs that learners encounter early on.
sein (to be)
Sein is fundamental and highly irregular. Its present tense forms must be memorized because they appear in countless sentences and questions.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich bin | I am | |
| du bist | you (sing.) are | |
| er/sie/es ist | he/she/it is | |
| wir sind | we are | |
| ihr seid | you (pl.) are | |
| sie/Sie sind | they/you (form) are |
The past tense Präteritum of sein is also irregular and commonly used in narratives.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich war | I was | |
| du warst | you were | |
| er/sie/es war | he/she/it was | |
| wir waren | we were | |
| ihr wart | you were | |
| sie/Sie waren | they/you were |
The past participle gewesen is used with haben or sein in perfect constructions.
Ich(to be) heute glücklich.
I am happy today.
haben (to have)
Haben is another core verb; it is irregular in the present tense and used both as a main verb and an auxiliary for most perfect tense forms.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich habe | I have | |
| du hast | you have | |
| er/sie/es hat | he/she/it has | |
| wir haben | we have | |
| ihr habt | you have | |
| sie/Sie haben | they/you have |
Its past tense hatte follows a regular pattern, making it easier to remember.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich hatte | I had | |
| du hattest | you had | |
| er/sie/es hatte | he/she/it had | |
| wir hatten | we had | |
| ihr hattet | you had | |
| sie/Sie hatten | they/you had |
The past participle gehabt completes perfect tense sentences.
Du(to have) das Buch dabei.
You have the book with you.
werden (to become / will)
Werden is irregular and serves multiple roles: to indicate change, to form the future tense, and to create the passive voice. Its present tense stem changes to wirst and wird in the du/er forms.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich werde | I become / I will | |
| du wirst | you become / you will | |
| er/sie/es wird | he/she/it becomes / will | |
| wir werden | we become / we will | |
| ihr werdet | you become / you will | |
| sie/Sie werden | they/you become / will |
The past tense wurde is used in narratives and in passive constructions.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich wurde | I became / I was | |
| du wurdest | you became / were | |
| er/sie/es wurde | he/she/it became / was | |
| wir wurden | we became / we were | |
| ihr wurdet | you became / were | |
| sie/Sie wurden | they/you became / were |
The past participle geworden is used with sein to describe changes or with werden in perfect passives.
Du(to become) bald Ärztin.
You will become a doctor soon.
gehen (to go)
Gehen is a common irregular verb with a stem vowel change in some dialects but generally regular in standard German. Its past participle is used in perfect tense narratives.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich gehe | I go | |
| du gehst | you go | |
| er/sie/es geht | he/she/it goes | |
| wir gehen | we go | |
| ihr geht | you go | |
| sie/Sie gehen | they/you go |
The past tense ging is irregular and must be learned.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich ging | I went | |
| du gingst | you went | |
| er/sie/es ging | he/she/it went | |
| wir gingen | we went | |
| ihr gingt | you went | |
| sie/Sie gingen | they/you went |
The past participle gegangen is used with sein.
Wir(to go) morgen zusammen segeln.
We are going sailing together tomorrow.
kommen (to come)
Kommen is regular in the present tense but important as a frequently used verb for movement and doubling as an auxiliary in some dialects.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich komme | I come | |
| du kommst | you come | |
| er/sie/es kommt | he/she/it comes | |
| wir kommen | we come | |
| ihr kommt | you come | |
| sie/Sie kommen | they/you come |
The past tense kam is irregular and common in storytelling.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich kam | I came | |
| du kamst | you came | |
| er/sie/es kam | he/she/it came | |
| wir kamen | we came | |
| ihr kamt | you came | |
| sie/Sie kamen | they/you came |
The past participle gekommen is used with sein.
Ich(to come) später vorbei.
I will come by later.
nehmen (to take)
Nehmen changes its stem vowel from e to i or ie in some forms and is irregular in the present tense. It is useful in many everyday expressions.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich nehme | I take | |
| du nimmst | you take | |
| er/sie/es nimmt | he/she/it takes | |
| wir nehmen | we take | |
| ihr nehmt | you take | |
| sie/Sie nehmen | they/you take |
The past tense nahm follows the irregular vowel pattern.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich nahm | I took | |
| du nahmst | you took | |
| er/sie/es nahm | he/she/it took | |
| wir nahmen | we took | |
| ihr nahmt | you took | |
| sie/Sie nahmen | they/you took |
The past participle genommen is used in perfect tenses.
(to take) du ein Stück Kuchen?
Will you take a piece of cake?
sehen (to see)
Sehen changes its stem vowel from e to ie in du/er/sie/es forms and is irregular in the past tense. It appears in many contexts from literal seeing to understanding.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich sehe | I see | |
| du siehst | you see | |
| er/sie/es sieht | he/she/it sees | |
| wir sehen | we see | |
| ihr seht | you see | |
| sie/Sie sehen | they/you see |
The past tense sah is irregular and common in narratives.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich sah | I saw | |
| du sahst | you saw | |
| er/sie/es sah | he/she/it saw | |
| wir sahen | we saw | |
| ihr saht | you saw | |
| sie/Sie sahen | they/you saw |
The past participle gesehen completes perfect tense forms.
Kannst du das Bild von hier(to see)?
Can you see the picture from here?
geben (to give)
Geben changes its stem vowel to i in du/er/sie/es forms and is irregular in the past tense. It is frequently used in both literal and figurative senses.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich gebe | I give | |
| du gibst | you give | |
| er/sie/es gibt | he/she/it gives | |
| wir geben | we give | |
| ihr gebt | you give | |
| sie/Sie geben | they/you give |
The past tense gab follows the irregular pattern.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ich gab | I gave | |
| du gabst | you gave | |
| er/sie/es gab | he/she/it gave | |
| wir gaben | we gave | |
| ihr gabt | you gave | |
| sie/Sie gaben | they/you gave |
The past participle gegeben is used with haben.
Gibst du mir bitte das Buch(to give)?
Will you give me the book, please?
Summary
Wichtige unregelmäßige Verben wie sein, haben, werden, gehen, kommen, nehmen, sehen und geben folgen bestimmten Mustern bei Stammvokaländerungen und Vergangenheitsformen. Sie frühzeitig zu lernen erleichtert das Üben aller Zeiten erheblich.
Key irregular verbs like sein, haben, werden, gehen, kommen, nehmen, sehen, and geben set patterns for stem vowel changes and past tense forms. Learning them early makes all tense practice smoother.
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