Verb Conjugation and Sentence Structure in German

Hallo Liebe Leute!! In German, Verb Conjugation and Sentence Structure in German formation can be considered as a complex topic to study. So, we are here to simplify it.

Verbs (as long as present tense conjugation is considered) can be classified in Regular, Irregular and t,d ending verbs. We also have helping verbs. Let’s first study conjugations of all these-

 

Regular verb conjugation technique-

These are called regelmäßigen verben in German. Every verb in German has two parts, stem and end.

First, identify the verb stem.

Eg: kommen (to come) – infinitiv form

       Komm – stem/ root

       -en – suffix

Take off the -en at the end of the infinitive form of the verb. For example, the verb stem of «wohnen»( to live) is «wohn». The verb stem of «machen»(to make/do) is «mach».

Next, add the appropriate ending to the verb stem, depending on who is completing the action in the sentence. Here are the regular endings:

e-st-t-en-t-en (est1010)

Let’s learn this through an example-

kommen – to come 

• ich → e → ich komme = I come
• du → st → du kommst = you (informal) come
• er/sie/es → t → sie kommt = he, she, it comes
• wir → en → wir kommen = we come
• ihr → t → ihr kommt = you come  (addressing two or more familiars)
• sie → en → sie kommen = they come
• Sie → en → Sie kommen = You (formal) come

Similarly, you can conjugate following regular verbs-

machen– To do, wohnen– To live, schwimmen– To swim, gehen– To go, denken– To think, trinken– To drink, bekommen– To get, bringen– To bring, kaufen– To buy, verstehen-To understand, spielen– To play, verdienen– To earn, suchen– To search, reisen– To travel, bleiben– To stay, fragen– to ask, hören– To hear, lachen– To laugh, malen– To paint, kochen– To cook, singen– To sing, lernen– To learn e.t.c.

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 Verb conjugation technique for stems ending in t,d-

This category includes verbs whose stem ends in -d or -t, like arbeiten. This can be marked with addition of an extra e before endings of du and er,sie,es,ihr conjugations.

Let’s learn this through an example-

arbeiten- To work

• ich → e → ich arbeite = I work
• du → est → du arbeitest = you (informal) work
• er/sie/es → et → er arbeitet = he, she, it works
• wir → en → wir arbeiten = we work
• ihr → et → ihr arbeitet = you work  (addressing two or more familiars)
• sie → en → sie arbeiten = they work
• Sie → en → Sie arbeiten = You (formal) work

Similarly, you can conjugate following verbs-

antworten– To answer, baden– To bath, reden– To talk, warten– To wait, finden– To find, schneiden- To cut, senden- To send, straiten- To fight   

 

Irregular verb conjugation technique-

Verbs with irregularity in their conjugation patterns are called as Irregular verbs. Known as Unregalmäßig verben or Starke verben; they are the combination of verbs that follow a definite conjugation pattern (e-st-t-en-t-en) and verbs that undergo a vowel change in their verb stems of du and er/sie/es conjugations. i.e. 2nd and 3rd person singular. Looking to learn German in Pune? Look no further than SevenMentor’s top-rated German language training in Pune!

The changes in the verb stem may occur in the following ways-

 

 

 

 

Conjugations for helping verbs-

Now, as we complete learning these; let’s learn conjugations of some helping verbs. haben (To have), sein (To be), werden (To become) and modal verbs come under this category. These verbs can act as main verbs too.

All of them have irregular conjugations as given below-

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Modal verbs- 

können– can, shows ability

müssen– must, shows compulsion

sollen– should, used for suggestions

wollen– To wish/want, shows wish/desire

dürfen– To be allowed, used in permissions

mögen– To like

möchten– To want

 

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Here we finish learning verb conjugations. Now, let’s learn about sentence formation.

1. Aussagesatz (Simple sentence with one verb)-

Here the verb is placed in second position.

The word order of the sentence goes:

Subject – Verb – Object.

Eg.  Ich spreche Deutsch.

Note that the Subject will either be at the first position or at the third (immediately after the Verb, if it’s not the first element of the sentence. Sign up for our German language Course in Pune today and take the first step towards mastering this beautiful language

1. W-fragen (Wh Questions)-

Here the verb is the second element.

The word order of the sentence goes:

    W.word – Verb – Subject

Eg. Was sprechen Sie?

 

1. Ja/Nein fragen (Interrogativ Questions)-

Here the Verb is the first element of the sentence.

The word order of the sentence goes:

Verb – Subject – object

Eg. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Note that verb refers to the conjugated or finite verb, i.e., the verb that has an ending that agrees with the subject (er geht, wir gehen, du gehst, etc.). 

Also, verb “in second position” or “second place,” means the second element, not necessarily the second word. For example, in the following sentence, the subject (Der alte Mann) consists of three words and the verb (kommt) comes second, but it is the fourth word:

• Der alte Mann kommt heute nach Hause.

(The old Man comes home today)

Hope this helps with basic understanding of grammar. Tschüss!!

 

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Author:-

Aditi Kulkarni

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