In conjugation, the endings of the verbs often change. The ending depends on which person is doing the action. The ending comes after the verb stem.
Example: kommen
Woher kommst du, Nico? – Ich komme aus Spanien.
Woher kommen Sie, Herr González? – Ich komme aus Spanien.
Most verbs are conjugated in the present tense as follows:
| kommen | ||
| Singular | 1st person | ich komme |
| Singular | 2nd person | du kommst |
| Singular and plural | formal address | Sie kommen |
Example: heißen
When the verb stem ends in -s, -ß, -z or -x , the second-person singular form only adds a -t :
| heißen | ||
| Singular | 1st person | ich heiße |
| Singular | 2nd person | du heißt |
| Singular and plural | formal address | Sie heißen |
Example: sein
Ich bin Nico. Und wer bist du? – Ich bin Emma.
Ich bin Lisa Brunner. Und wer sind Sie? – Ich bin Sigi Körner.
The verb sein and other important German verbs are irregular. So always learn the verb forms as well!
| sein | ||
| Singular | 1st person | ich bin |
| Singular | 2nd person | du bist |
| Singular and plural | formal address | Sie sind |
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Grammatical terms in German: das Verb: Verbs are words that describe activities, occurrences or a situation, e.g. walk, eat, play. German verbs usually end with -en in the infinitive, e.g. kommen, heißen, lernen. die Konjugation: When a verb is used in a different tense, or with a different person, it changes. It often gets a specific ending. This change in the verb form is known as conjugation. das Präsens: The present is a verb tense. It is used when speaking about events, activities or situations that happen in the present or are continuing to happen. |