ansprechen — German conjugation
to address
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 | spreche an | I address |
| du | sprichst an | you address |
| er/sie/es | spricht an | he/she/it addresses |
| wir | sprechen an | we address |
| ihr | sprecht an | you (pl.) address |
| sie/Sie | sprechen an | they address |
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 | sprach an | I addressed |
| du | sprachst an | you addressed |
| er/sie/es | sprach an | he/she/it addressed |
| wir | sprachen an | we addressed |
| ihr | spracht an | you (pl.) addressed |
| sie/Sie | sprachen an | they addressed |
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 angesprochen | I have addressed |
| du | hast angesprochen | you have addressed |
| er/sie/es | hat angesprochen | he/she/it has addressed |
| wir | haben angesprochen | we have addressed |
| ihr | habt angesprochen | you (pl.) have addressed |
| sie/Sie | haben angesprochen | they have addressed |
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 angesprochen | I had addressed |
| du | hattest angesprochen | you had addressed |
| er/sie/es | hatte angesprochen | he/she/it had addressed |
| wir | hatten angesprochen | we had addressed |
| ihr | hattet angesprochen | you (pl.) had addressed |
| sie/Sie | hatten angesprochen | they had addressed |
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 ansprechen | I will address |
| du | wirst ansprechen | you will address |
| er/sie/es | wird ansprechen | he/she/it will address |
| wir | werden ansprechen | we will address |
| ihr | werdet ansprechen | you (pl.) will address |
| sie/Sie | werden ansprechen | they will address |
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 angesprochen haben | I will have addressed |
| du | wirst angesprochen haben | you will have addressed |
| er/sie/es | wird angesprochen haben | he/she/it will have addressed |
| wir | werden angesprochen haben | we will have addressed |
| ihr | werdet angesprochen haben | you (pl.) will have addressed |
| sie/Sie | werden angesprochen haben | they will have addressed |
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 | spräche an |
| du | sprächest an |
| er/sie/es | spräche an |
| wir | sprächen an |
| ihr | sprächet an |
| sie/Sie | sprächen 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 | sprich an |
| ihr | sprecht an |