Verbs 🏃

VERB 🏃

A verb is a word that shows action, position, or being.

Verb have 2 roles

1. It is Conjugated according to Subject
2. It decides the Case of the Object (Simple Object) associated with it

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German Verb Structure

1. Infinitive form 🌱

The Infinitiv is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb. It does not change according to the subject.

Infinitiv = the dictionary form of the verb.

A verb can be divided into two parts:

$\boxed { \text { Verb = Stem + ending }}$

1. Root / Stem

Base of the verb that gets conjugated

2. Ending

Part that gets removed and conjugated with suffix

• In German, most verbs in the infinitive form (the "to …" form) end with -en.

Example Verb Stems & Ending

Verb	Meaning	Root	Ending
gehen	(to go)	geh	en
kommen	(to come)	komm	en
lesen	(to read)	les	en
schreiben	(to write)	schreib	en

See Infinitive Clauses for the full zu + Infinitiv rule, its exceptions, and um...zu / brauchen + zu.

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Verb Conjugation

Verb conjugation means changing a verb according to the: subject, person, number, tense, or mood.

$\boxed { \text { Verb = Stem - remove(-en) + add(Personal Ending) }}$

Verb conjugation = changing a verb's form to express who is doing the action, when it happens, and how the action is presented.

Factors affecting verb endings

Category	Example	Change
Subject	ich / du / er	lerne / lernst / lernt
Person	1st / 2nd / 3rd	lerne / lernst / lernt
Number	singular / plural	lernt / lernen
Tense	Präsens / Präteritum	lerne / lernte
Mood	Indicative / Konjunktiv II	lerne / lernte

Important Types of Verb Conjugation

For conjugation, the Verb is divided in 5 parts:

Verb Conjugation
        │
        ├── Regular Verbs (schwache Verben)
        │        └── lernen → lern-e, lern-st, lern-t
        │
        ├── Irregular Verbs (starke Verben)
        │       └── fahren → fährst, fährt
        │
        ├── Mixed Verbs (gemischte Verben)
        │       └── denken → dachte
        │
        ├── Modal Verbs
        │    └── können → kann, kannst, kann
        │
        └── Auxiliary Verbs (Hilfsverben)
             └── sein, haben, werden

1. Regular (99 % )

Changes ending exactly according to the rule( est-ten-ten + 2 exception)

Substitution Table with Exceptions

Pronoun / Subject	Normal Ending	After -d / -t	After -s / -ß / -x / -z	Example: spielen
ich	-e	-e	-e	ich spiele
du	-st	-est	-t	du spielst
er / sie / es	-t	-et	-t	er spielt
wir	-en	-en	-en	wir spielen
ihr	-t	-et	-t	ihr spielt
sie / Sie	-en	-en	-en	sie spielen

2. Stem vowel change

But only with IInd Person du, er/es/sie →

• The root e changes into i/ie
• The root a changes into ä
• The root au changes intoäu

3. irregular

No rule must learn

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Verb Types in Details

#	Category	Explanation	Example (Infinitive → ich-form)	English	Guide
1️⃣	🧩 Regelmäßige Verben (Regular verbs)	Follow a predictable conjugation pattern (add endings: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en).	machen → ich mache	to do / make	Weak & Strong Verbs
2️⃣	🌀 Unregelmäßige Verben (Irregular verbs)	Stem changes in du and er/sie/es forms (often vowel changes).	sehen → ich sehe, du siehst, er sieht	to see	Weak & Strong Verbs
3️⃣	🍜 Gemischte Verben (Mixed verbs)	Combine regular endings with irregular stems in past tense.	denken → ich denke, ich dachte	to think	Weak & Strong Verbs
4️⃣	💎 Modalverben (Modal verbs)	Modify another verb; second verb goes to the end in infinitive form.	können → ich kann schwimmen	can / to be able to	Modal Verbs
5️⃣	🛰 Trennbare Verben (Separable verbs)	Prefix separates in main clause and moves to sentence end.	aufstehen → Ich stehe früh auf.	to get up	Separable & Inseparable Verbs
6️⃣	🛸 Untrennbare Verben (Inseparable verbs)	Prefix never separates; keeps together with main verb.	verstehen → Ich verstehe dich.	to understand	Separable & Inseparable Verbs
7️⃣	🪞️ Reflexive Verben (Reflexive verbs)	Used with reflexive pronouns (mich, dir, sich, uns…).	sich freuen → Ich freue mich.	to be glad	Reflexive Verbs
8️⃣	💠 Hilfsverben (Auxiliary verbs)	Used to form compound tenses (Perfekt, Futur, etc.).	haben, sein, werden	have, be, will/become	Auxiliary Verbs
9️⃣	Unpersönliche Verben (Impersonal verbs)	Only used in 3rd person singular (es).	es regnet	it rains	—
🔟	🧱 Verben mit Präpositionen	Fixed preposition pair; changes meaning.	warten auf → Ich warte auf dich.	to wait for	Fixed Prepositions

Also see Lassen — the causative "have something done" construction — and Funktionsverbgefüge for noun-verb combinations like eine Entscheidung treffen.

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🎯 Focus per level:

• A1: Regular conjugation, haben/sein, simple present
• A2: Separable verbs, Perfekt (haben/sein)
• B1: Präteritum (modal verbs), reflexive verbs, passive voice
• B2: Subjunctive (Konjunktiv II), verb prefixes, passive forms

Related: Weak & Strong Verbs · Auxiliary Verbs · Partizip II · Funktionsverben · Modal Verbs · Separable & Inseparable Verbs · Reflexive Verbs · Lassen · Tenses · Grammar Roadmap