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	German Name	Explanation	Example (Infinitive → ich-form)	English
1	😐 Regular / Weak Verbs	Regelmäßige Verben	Follow a predictable conjugation pattern with regular endings.	machen → ich mache	to do / make
2	💪 Irregular /Strong Verbs	Unregelmäßige Verben	Have irregular changes in their forms, often including stem-vowel changes.	sehen → ich sehe, du siehst, er sieht	to see
3	🍜 Mixed Verbs	Gemischte Verben	Combine regular endings with an irregular stem, especially in the past tense.	denken → ich denke, ich dachte	to think
4	💎 Modal Verbs	Modalverben	Modify another verb; the second verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end.	können → ich kann schwimmen	can / to be able to
5	🛰️ Separable Verbs	Trennbare Verben	The prefix separates from the verb in a main clause and moves to the sentence end.	aufstehen → Ich stehe früh auf.	to get up
6	🛸 Inseparable Verbs	Untrennbare Verben	The prefix does not separate from the verb.	verstehen → Ich verstehe dich.	to understand
7	🪞 Reflexive Verbs	Reflexive Verben	Used with reflexive pronouns such as mich, dich, sich, uns, etc.	sich freuen → Ich freue mich.	to be glad
8	💠 Auxiliary Verbs	Hilfsverben	Used to form compound tenses and other grammatical constructions.	haben, sein, werden	have, be, will/become
9	🌧️ Impersonal Verbs	Unpersönliche Verben	Used only or mainly in impersonal constructions, often with es.	regnen → es regnet	to rain
10	🔌 Verbs with Prepositions	Verben mit Präpositionen	Used with a fixed preposition that forms part of the verb's meaning.	warten auf → Ich warte auf dich.	to wait for

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