German present tense: regular verb conjugation
Drop -en from the infinitive and add the ending for the subject. The two spelling rules that trip everyone up: stems in -t/-d, and stems in -s/-ß/-z.
Most German verbs are regular in the present tense (Präsens). Take the infinitive, drop -en to get the stem, then add the ending for the subject:
- ich komme
- du kommst
- er / sie / es kommt
- wir kommen
- ihr kommt
- sie / Sie kommen
Two spelling rules matter at A1:
- Stem ends in -t or -d (arbeiten → arbeit-): insert an extra -e- before the -st and -t endings so the word stays pronounceable — du arbeitest, er arbeitet.
- Stem ends in -s, -ß, -z or -x (heißen → heiß-): the du form takes only -t, not -st — du heißt (never du heißst).
Examples
Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form kommenPerson1st person singular (ich)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build aus China.
I come from China.
Wo Grammatical analysisBase form wohnenPerson2nd person singular (du)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form duCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person2nd person singular (du)Checked deterministically before build?
Where do you live?
Grammatical analysisBase form duCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person2nd person singular (du)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form arbeitenPerson2nd person singular (du)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build viel.
You work a lot.
Common mistakes
The -t ending belongs to er/sie/es. The du form always ends in -st.
After a stem ending in -ß (or -s/-z), the du form drops the s and takes only -t.
Related topics
- sein and haben: the two essential irregular verbs
- der, die, das: gender and the definite article (Nominativ)
- German modal verbs: können, müssen, wollen, dürfen, sollen, mögen/möchten + word order
- German Perfect Tense (Perfekt): haben or sein + Past Participle
- German separable verbs: aufstehen, einkaufen, fernsehen — where the prefix goes