anbeißen — German conjugation
to bite; to take the bait
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.
Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | beiße an | I bite |
| du | beißt an | you bite |
| er/sie/es | beißt an | he/she/it bites |
| wir | beißen an | we bite |
| ihr | beißt an | you (pl.) bite |
| sie/Sie | beißen an | they bite |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.
Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | biss an | I bit |
| du | bissest an | you bit |
| er/sie/es | biss an | he/she/it bit |
| wir | bissen an | we bit |
| ihr | bisst an | you (pl.) bit |
| sie/Sie | bissen an | they bit |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.
Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | habe angebissen | I have bitten |
| du | hast angebissen | you have bitten |
| er/sie/es | hat angebissen | he/she/it has bitten |
| wir | haben angebissen | we have bitten |
| ihr | habt angebissen | you (pl.) have bitten |
| sie/Sie | haben angebissen | they have bitten |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.
Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hatte angebissen | I had bitten |
| du | hattest angebissen | you had bitten |
| er/sie/es | hatte angebissen | he/she/it had bitten |
| wir | hatten angebissen | we had bitten |
| ihr | hattet angebissen | you (pl.) had bitten |
| sie/Sie | hatten angebissen | they had bitten |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.
Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde anbeißen | I will bite |
| du | wirst anbeißen | you will bite |
| er/sie/es | wird anbeißen | he/she/it will bite |
| wir | werden anbeißen | we will bite |
| ihr | werdet anbeißen | you (pl.) will bite |
| sie/Sie | werden anbeißen | they will bite |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.
Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde angebissen haben | I will have bitten |
| du | wirst angebissen haben | you will have bitten |
| er/sie/es | wird angebissen haben | he/she/it will have bitten |
| wir | werden angebissen haben | we will have bitten |
| ihr | werdet angebissen haben | you (pl.) will have bitten |
| sie/Sie | werden angebissen haben | they will have bitten |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.
Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| ich | bisse an |
| du | bissest an |
| er/sie/es | bisse an |
| wir | bissen an |
| ihr | bisset an |
| sie/Sie | bissen an |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.
Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| du | beiße an |
| ihr | beißt an |