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📖 Theory: Verb Variations & Irregular Verbs (Verbvariationen und unregelmäßige Verben)

Most verbs in German follow a regular pattern where the ending is simply added to the stem of the verb. But there are some variations where the spelling is slightly different. There is also a group of irregular verbs where there are changes in the stem of the verb.

Irregular forms in English: In English there is also a difference between regular and irregular verbs, but it usually does not affect the present tense, except for 'to be' and 'to have'. These verbs will be discussed in Unit 4.

There are some German verbs where the stem ends in -d or -t. It would be difficult to pronounce the -st endings for du and the t ending for er/sie/es and ihr if -st or -t was directly added to the stem. This is why an e is put before these endings:

Verbs such as atmen and regnen : Verbs where the stem ends in a consonant + n or m, also need the additional e:

• atmen → stem: atm → du atmest
• regnen → stem: regn → es regnet

Examples:

Du atmest sehr heftig. (You're breathing rather heavily.)

Herr Maier arbeitet bei Siemens. (Mr Maier works for Siemens.)

Es regnet schon wieder! (It's raining again!)

Das Buch kostet 5 Euro. (The book costs 5 euros.)

Ihr redet zu viel. (You're talking too much.)

Only du , er/sie/es and ihr are affected. The extra e is added only with these endings:

Normally the verb ending for du is -st, but, if the verb stem ends in s, ss or ß, add a t as the verb ending for du:

Reist du wieder nach Italien? (Are you travelling to Italy again?)

Du heißt doch Frank, oder? (You're called Frank, aren't you?)

Susi küsst gern. (Susi likes kissing.)

For a few verbs where the stem ends in x, z or tz the same pattern applies:

There is a group of German verbs where the vowel in the stem changes in the present tense. These changes apply only in the du and er/sie/es forms. None of the other endings is affected.

Examples:

Liest du gern Harry Potter? (Do you like reading Harry Potter?)

Er sieht ein Fußballspiel. (He is watching a football match.)

Sie isst gern Pizza. (She likes eating pizza.)

Sprichst du Deutsch? (Do you speak German?)

Sie schläft bis elf Uhr. (She sleeps until eleven o'clock.)

Looking out for patterns

These changes apply only to a limited number of verbs. It is best to learn these verbs by heart. There are also certain patterns which can help you predict how a verb changes:

fahren, schlafen, tragen...

sprechen, essen, helfen...

sehen, lesen, geben...

Changes from a to ä

Du fährst morgen nach Hause. (You're going home tomorrow.)

Gleich fällt es runter! (Any moment now it will fall down!)

Er trägt ein neues T-Shirt. (He wears a new T-shirt.)

Changes from e to i

The verb nehmen also follows the e to i pattern, but has greater spelling variations:

Changes from e to ie

All verbs with a vowel change are irregular verbs. You will find a list of irregular verbs, often also called strong verbs, at the back of most course books and dictionaries. But beware: not all irregular verbs change their spelling in the present tense.

There are also two other groups of verb forms which do not conform to the regular pattern in the present tense:

• The verbs sein and haben (see Unit 4)
• The modal verbs (see Unit 20)

🔧 Conjugation Practice Tool

Type any German verb to see its conjugation pattern: