bersten — German conjugation
to burst
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 | berste | I burst |
| du | birstst | you burst |
| er/sie/es | birst | he/she/it bursts |
| wir | bersten | we burst |
| ihr | berstet | you (pl.) burst |
| sie/Sie | bersten | they burst |
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 | barst | I burst |
| du | barstest | you burst |
| er/sie/es | barst | he/she/it burst |
| wir | barsten | we burst |
| ihr | barstet | you (pl.) burst |
| sie/Sie | barsten | they burst |
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 | bin geborsten | I have burst |
| du | bist geborsten | you have burst |
| er/sie/es | ist geborsten | he/she/it has burst |
| wir | sind geborsten | we have burst |
| ihr | seid geborsten | you (pl.) have burst |
| sie/Sie | sind geborsten | they have burst |
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 | war geborsten | I had burst |
| du | warst geborsten | you had burst |
| er/sie/es | war geborsten | he/she/it had burst |
| wir | waren geborsten | we had burst |
| ihr | wart geborsten | you (pl.) had burst |
| sie/Sie | waren geborsten | they had burst |
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 bersten | I will burst |
| du | wirst bersten | you will burst |
| er/sie/es | wird bersten | he/she/it will burst |
| wir | werden bersten | we will burst |
| ihr | werdet bersten | you (pl.) will burst |
| sie/Sie | werden bersten | they will burst |
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 geborsten sein | I will have burst |
| du | wirst geborsten sein | you will have burst |
| er/sie/es | wird geborsten sein | he/she/it will have burst |
| wir | werden geborsten sein | we will have burst |
| ihr | werdet geborsten sein | you (pl.) will have burst |
| sie/Sie | werden geborsten sein | they will have burst |
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 | bärste |
| du | bärstest |
| er/sie/es | bärste |
| wir | bärsten |
| ihr | bärstet |
| sie/Sie | bärsten |
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 | birst |
| ihr | berstet |