Verb Conjugation Patterns
Verb Conjugation Patterns
Beyond sein and haben, regular German verbs follow one predictable ending pattern across all six persons — but a set of common verbs additionally change their stem vowel for du and er/sie/es, a wrinkle worth drilling early.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
One regular ending pattern for most verbs
machen: ich mache, du machst, er macht, wir machen, ihr macht, sie machen
to make/do: I make, you make, he makes, we make, you make, they make
English present-tense conjugation is nearly invisible — only the er/sie/es form changes at all ("he makes" vs. "I/you/we/they make"). German conjugates all six persons with distinct endings (-e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en), which feels like more to learn, but the pattern is completely regular and applies to the vast majority of German verbs without exception.
Stem-vowel-changing verbs: a wrinkle with no English parallel
fahren: ich fahre, du fährst, er fährt (a→ä) / essen: ich esse, du isst, er isst (e→i) / lesen: ich lese, du liest, er liest (e→ie)
to drive: I drive, you drive, he drives / to eat: I eat, you eat, he eats / to read: I read, you read, he reads
A specific list of common, otherwise-regular verbs (fahren, essen, sehen, lesen, nehmen, sprechen, geben, helfen, and others) change their stem vowel only in the du and er/sie/es forms: a→ä, or e→i/ie. English verbs never alter their core vowel this way based on grammatical person. There's no rule predicting which verbs do this — you simply learn each one's du/er form individually, the same way you'd memorize an English irregular past tense (go/went).
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich mache / du machst / er macht | ikh MAH-kheh / doo mahkhst / air mahkht | I do/make / you do/make / he does/makes |
| ich fahre / du fährst / er fährt | ikh FAH-reh / doo FAIRST / air fairt | I drive / you drive / he drives |
| ich esse / du isst / er isst | ikh ES-eh / doo ist / air ist | I eat / you eat / he eats |
| ich spreche / du sprichst / er spricht | ikh SHPREKH-eh / doo shprikhst / air shprikht | I speak / you speak / he speaks |
| ich lese / du liest / er liest | ikh LAY-zeh / doo leest / air leest | I read / you read / he reads |
| ich sehe / du siehst / er sieht | ikh ZAY-eh / doo zeest / air zeet | I see / you see / he sees |