anklopfen — German conjugation
to knock
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Regular
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 | klopfe an | I knock |
| du | klopfst an | you knock |
| er/sie/es | klopft an | he/she/it knocks |
| wir | klopfen an | we knock |
| ihr | klopft an | you (pl.) knock |
| sie/Sie | klopfen an | they knock |
Simple past (Präteritum) Regular
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 | klopfte an | I knocked |
| du | klopftest an | you knocked |
| er/sie/es | klopfte an | he/she/it knocked |
| wir | klopften an | we knocked |
| ihr | klopftet an | you (pl.) knocked |
| sie/Sie | klopften an | they knocked |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Regular
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 angeklopft | I have knocked |
| du | hast angeklopft | you have knocked |
| er/sie/es | hat angeklopft | he/she/it has knocked |
| wir | haben angeklopft | we have knocked |
| ihr | habt angeklopft | you (pl.) have knocked |
| sie/Sie | haben angeklopft | they have knocked |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Regular
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 angeklopft | I had knocked |
| du | hattest angeklopft | you had knocked |
| er/sie/es | hatte angeklopft | he/she/it had knocked |
| wir | hatten angeklopft | we had knocked |
| ihr | hattet angeklopft | you (pl.) had knocked |
| sie/Sie | hatten angeklopft | they had knocked |
Future I (Futur I) Regular
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 anklopfen | I will knock |
| du | wirst anklopfen | you will knock |
| er/sie/es | wird anklopfen | he/she/it will knock |
| wir | werden anklopfen | we will knock |
| ihr | werdet anklopfen | you (pl.) will knock |
| sie/Sie | werden anklopfen | they will knock |
Future II (Futur II) Regular
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 angeklopft haben | I will have knocked |
| du | wirst angeklopft haben | you will have knocked |
| er/sie/es | wird angeklopft haben | he/she/it will have knocked |
| wir | werden angeklopft haben | we will have knocked |
| ihr | werdet angeklopft haben | you (pl.) will have knocked |
| sie/Sie | werden angeklopft haben | they will have knocked |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Regular
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 | klopfte an |
| du | klopftest an |
| er/sie/es | klopfte an |
| wir | klopften an |
| ihr | klopftet an |
| sie/Sie | klopften an |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Regular
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 | klopfe an |
| ihr | klopft an |