How to Conjugate a German Verb
All German verbs end in the letter -en or -n. This form of the verb is called the infinitive. In English the infinitive is the word to _ the verb (example: to play). It is quite easy to conjugate regular German verbs. Follow the steps below, make sure to memorize them!
Memorize the verb endingsich -- e
du --st er/sie/es -- t wir -- en ihr -- t sie --en Sie --en |
Step 1: Drop the -en or -nIf we are conjugating the verb to play -- spielen -- in German our first step is to remove the -en ending. That give us the verb stem:
spiel- |
Step 2: Add the verb endingThen we add the endings
to the verb stem. ich spiele du spielst er/sie/es spielt wir spielen ihr spielt sie spielen Sie spielen |
Later in the year we will conjugate different types of verbs -- they are not difficult if you learn the basics. Other verb types include: vowel changing verbs, modal verbs, and separable prefix verbs.