Verben (Verbs)
Verben (Verbs)
A Verb describes the action in the sentence. Almost, every sentence requires a verb. The basic form of the verb is known as its Infinitive form. The form of the verb changes according to its Subject, the doer of the sentence. In German language, the verbs has its own importance and they are claasified in different categories:
- Regular verbs : Regular verbs or also known as weak verbs does not change their ‘root’ while conjugating. For example:
| machen (to do) | trinken (to drink) | fragen (to question) | |
| ich | mache | trinke | frage |
| du | machst | trinkst | fragst |
| er/sie/es | macht | trinkt | fragt |
| wir | machen | trinken | fragen |
| Sie | machen | trinken | fragen |
| ihr | macht | trinkt | fragt |
| sie (pl.) | machen | trinken | fragen |
‘machen’ is the infinitive form. ‘mach’ is the root. As we conjugate machen with different subject, the root ‘mach’ remains the same. It does not change. In the same way, ‘trinken’ and ‘fragen’ also does not change their root. Therefore, they come under the category of Regular verbs.
- Irregular verbs : Irregular verbs or also known as strong verbs changes their ‘root’ while conjugating. For example:
| essen (to eat) | helfen (to help) | sprechen (to speak) | |
| ich | esse | helfe | spreche |
| du | isst | hilfst | sprichst |
| er/sie/es | isst | hilft | spricht |
| wir | essen | helfen | sprechen |
| Sie | essen | helfen | sprechen |
| ihr | esst | helft | sprecht |
| sie (pl.) | essen | helfen | sprechen |
‘essen’ is the infinitive form. ‘ess’ is the root . As we conjugate essen with different subject, the root ‘ess’ is changed. It does not remain same with every subject. In the same way, ‘helfen’ and ‘schreiben’ also change their root. Therefore, they come under the category of Irregular verbs.
- Helping verbs : Helping verbs also known as ‘auxiliary verbs’ are mostly used with the main verb in a sentence. ‘sein’, ‘haben’ and ‘werden’ are the helping verbs in german.
| sein (to be) | haben (to have) | werden (to become) | |
| ich | bin | habe | werde |
| du | bist | hast | wirst |
| er/sie/es | ist | hat | wird |
| Wir | sind | haben | werden |
| Sie | sind | haben | werden |
| ihr | seid | habt | werdet |
| sie (pl.) | sind | haben | werden |
