The verbs sein and haben

Almost every German introduction rests on two verbs: sein (to be) and haben (to have). Both are irregular, so their forms are memorised as whole sets rather than derived from a rule — ich bin, du bist, er ist on one side, ich habe, du hast, er hat on the other. Reach for sein when you say who you are or how you are, and for haben when you say what you have. The pronoun standing in front is what decides the form, which is why this lesson pairs the two verbs with the pronouns you will use on your very first day: ich for yourself, du for a friend, and the polite Sie for someone you have only just met. In a yes-or-no question the verb simply steps ahead of the pronoun — Hast du heute Zeit? — while the form itself does not change at all.