anfressen — German conjugation
to gnaw at, to corrode
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 | fresse an | I gnaw at |
| du | frisst an | you gnaw at |
| er/sie/es | frisst an | he/she/it gnaws at |
| wir | fressen an | we gnaw at |
| ihr | fresst an | you (pl.) gnaw at |
| sie/Sie | fressen an | they gnaw at |
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 | fraß an | I gnawed at |
| du | fraßest an | you gnawed at |
| er/sie/es | fraß an | he/she/it gnawed at |
| wir | fraßen an | we gnawed at |
| ihr | fraßt an | you (pl.) gnawed at |
| sie/Sie | fraßen an | they gnawed at |
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 angefressen | I have gnawed at |
| du | hast angefressen | you have gnawed at |
| er/sie/es | hat angefressen | he/she/it has gnawed at |
| wir | haben angefressen | we have gnawed at |
| ihr | habt angefressen | you (pl.) have gnawed at |
| sie/Sie | haben angefressen | they have gnawed at |
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 angefressen | I had gnawed at |
| du | hattest angefressen | you had gnawed at |
| er/sie/es | hatte angefressen | he/she/it had gnawed at |
| wir | hatten angefressen | we had gnawed at |
| ihr | hattet angefressen | you (pl.) had gnawed at |
| sie/Sie | hatten angefressen | they had gnawed at |
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 anfressen | I will gnaw at |
| du | wirst anfressen | you will gnaw at |
| er/sie/es | wird anfressen | he/she/it will gnaw at |
| wir | werden anfressen | we will gnaw at |
| ihr | werdet anfressen | you (pl.) will gnaw at |
| sie/Sie | werden anfressen | they will gnaw at |
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 angefressen haben | I will have gnawed at |
| du | wirst angefressen haben | you will have gnawed at |
| er/sie/es | wird angefressen haben | he/she/it will have gnawed at |
| wir | werden angefressen haben | we will have gnawed at |
| ihr | werdet angefressen haben | you (pl.) will have gnawed at |
| sie/Sie | werden angefressen haben | they will have gnawed at |
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 | fräße an |
| du | fräßest an |
| er/sie/es | fräße an |
| wir | fräßen an |
| ihr | fräßet an |
| sie/Sie | fräßen 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 | friss an |
| ihr | fresst an |