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Regular verbs — also called weak verbs (schwache Verben) — form the largest group of German verbs. They follow a completely predictable conjugation pattern in the present tense. Once you learn this pattern, you can conjugate hundreds of verbs correctly. This lesson teaches you the system using the most common regular verbs.
Every German verb has an infinitive form (the dictionary form), which ends in -en (or occasionally -n). To conjugate a verb, you:
Example with machen (to make/do):
| Pronoun | Ending | machen | spielen | lernen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | mache | spiele | lerne |
| du | -st | machst | spielst | lernst |
| er/sie/es | -t | macht | spielt | lernt |
| wir | -en | machen | spielen | lernen |
| ihr | -t | macht | spielt | lernt |
| sie/Sie | -en | machen | spielen | lernen |
Observation: The wir and sie/Sie forms are always identical to the infinitive. The er/sie/es and ihr forms are always identical. These patterns reduce the number of forms you actually need to memorise.
Here are 20 of the most useful regular verbs:
| Infinitive | English | Stem | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| machen | to make/do | mach- | Ich mache Hausaufgaben. (I do homework.) |
| spielen | to play | spiel- | Er spielt Fußball. (He plays football.) |
| lernen | to learn | lern- | Wir lernen Deutsch. (We learn German.) |
| wohnen | to live (reside) | wohn- | Sie wohnt in Berlin. (She lives in Berlin.) |
| kaufen | to buy | kauf- | Ich kaufe Brot. (I buy bread.) |
| fragen | to ask | frag- | Er fragt den Lehrer. (He asks the teacher.) |
| sagen | to say | sag- | Sie sagt ja. (She says yes.) |
| hören | to hear/listen | hör- | Ich höre Musik. (I listen to music.) |
| kochen | to cook | koch- | Wir kochen Abendessen. (We cook dinner.) |
| suchen | to search for | such- | Ich suche meinen Schlüssel. (I search for my key.) |
| brauchen | to need | brauch- | Du brauchst Hilfe. (You need help.) |
| glauben | to believe | glaub- | Ich glaube das nicht. (I don't believe that.) |
| zeigen | to show | zeig- | Er zeigt mir das Foto. (He shows me the photo.) |
| lieben | to love | lieb- | Sie liebt Schokolade. (She loves chocolate.) |
| tanzen | to dance | tanz- | Wir tanzen gern. (We like to dance.) |
| reisen | to travel | reis- | Ihr reist nach Spanien. (You travel to Spain.) |
| wandern | to hike | wander- | Ich wandere in den Bergen. (I hike in the mountains.) |
| trinken | to drink | trink- | Er trinkt Wasser. (He drinks water.) |
| schicken | to send | schick- | Sie schickt eine E-Mail. (She sends an email.) |
| besuchen | to visit | besuch- | Wir besuchen unsere Großeltern. (We visit our grandparents.) |
When the stem ends in -t, -d, or certain consonant clusters (-chn, -ffn, -gn), an extra -e- is inserted before the endings -st and -t to make pronunciation easier.
| Pronoun | arbeiten (to work) | finden (to find) | öffnen (to open) | rechnen (to calculate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | arbeite | finde | öffne | rechne |
| du | arbeitest | findest | öffnest | rechnest |
| er/sie/es | arbeitet | findet | öffnet | rechnet |
| wir | arbeiten | finden | öffnen | rechnen |
| ihr | arbeitet | findet | öffnet | rechnet |
| sie/Sie | arbeiten | finden | öffnen | rechnen |
Why: Without the extra -e-, forms like arbeitst or findst would be nearly impossible to pronounce.
When the stem ends in a sibilant (-s, -ss, -ß, -z, -tz), the du form drops the s from -st and just adds -t.
| Pronoun | reisen (to travel) | heißen (to be called) | tanzen (to dance) | sitzen (to sit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| du | reist (not reisst) | heißt (not heißst) | tanzt (not tanzst) | sitzt (not sitzst) |
Result: The du and er/sie/es forms look identical for these verbs: du reist, er reist; du tanzt, sie tanzt.
Remember the V2 rule: in statements, the conjugated verb is always in position 2.
German does not have a separate present continuous tense (like English "I am playing"). The simple present tense covers both meanings:
If you need to emphasise that something is happening right now, you can add gerade (right now):
Regular German verbs follow a predictable pattern: remove -en from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the endings -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en. Stems ending in -t/-d or certain clusters add an extra -e- before -st and -t. Stems ending in sibilants (-s, -ß, -z) lose the -s from the du ending. The German present tense covers both simple present and present continuous meanings. Mastering this pattern lets you correctly conjugate the vast majority of German verbs.