beginnen — German conjugation
to begin; to commence; to be started
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 | beginne | I begin |
| du | beginnst | you begin |
| er/sie/es | beginnt | he/she/it begins |
| wir | beginnen | we begin |
| ihr | beginnt | you (pl.) begin |
| sie/Sie | beginnen | they begin |
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 | begann | I began |
| du | begannst | you began |
| er/sie/es | begann | he/she/it began |
| wir | begannen | we began |
| ihr | begannt | you (pl.) began |
| sie/Sie | begannen | they began |
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 begonnen | I have begun |
| du | hast begonnen | you have begun |
| er/sie/es | hat begonnen | he/she/it has begun |
| wir | haben begonnen | we have begun |
| ihr | habt begonnen | you (pl.) have begun |
| sie/Sie | haben begonnen | they have begun |
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 begonnen | I had begun |
| du | hattest begonnen | you had begun |
| er/sie/es | hatte begonnen | he/she/it had begun |
| wir | hatten begonnen | we had begun |
| ihr | hattet begonnen | you (pl.) had begun |
| sie/Sie | hatten begonnen | they had begun |
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 beginnen | I will begin |
| du | wirst beginnen | you will begin |
| er/sie/es | wird beginnen | he/she/it will begin |
| wir | werden beginnen | we will begin |
| ihr | werdet beginnen | you (pl.) will begin |
| sie/Sie | werden beginnen | they will begin |
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 begonnen haben | I will have begun |
| du | wirst begonnen haben | you will have begun |
| er/sie/es | wird begonnen haben | he/she/it will have begun |
| wir | werden begonnen haben | we will have begun |
| ihr | werdet begonnen haben | you (pl.) will have begun |
| sie/Sie | werden begonnen haben | they will have begun |
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 | begänne |
| du | begännest |
| er/sie/es | begänne |
| wir | begännen |
| ihr | begännet |
| sie/Sie | begännen |
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 | beginne |
| ihr | beginnt |