da sein — German conjugation
to be there
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 | bin da | I am there |
| du | bist da | you are there |
| er/sie/es | ist da | he/she/it is there |
| wir | sind da | we are there |
| ihr | seid da | you (pl.) are there |
| sie/Sie | sind da | they are there |
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 | war da | I was there |
| du | warst da | you were there |
| er/sie/es | war da | he/she/it was there |
| wir | waren da | we were there |
| ihr | wart da | you (pl.) were there |
| sie/Sie | waren da | they were there |
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 da gewesen | I have been there |
| du | bist da gewesen | you have been there |
| er/sie/es | ist da gewesen | he/she/it has been there |
| wir | sind da gewesen | we have been there |
| ihr | seid da gewesen | you (pl.) have been there |
| sie/Sie | sind da gewesen | they have been there |
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 da gewesen | I had been there |
| du | warst da gewesen | you had been there |
| er/sie/es | war da gewesen | he/she/it had been there |
| wir | waren da gewesen | we had been there |
| ihr | wart da gewesen | you (pl.) had been there |
| sie/Sie | waren da gewesen | they had been there |
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 da sein | I will be there |
| du | wirst da sein | you will be there |
| er/sie/es | wird da sein | he/she/it will be there |
| wir | werden da sein | we will be there |
| ihr | werdet da sein | you (pl.) will be there |
| sie/Sie | werden da sein | they will be there |
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 da gewesen sein | I will have been there |
| du | wirst da gewesen sein | you will have been there |
| er/sie/es | wird da gewesen sein | he/she/it will have been there |
| wir | werden da gewesen sein | we will have been there |
| ihr | werdet da gewesen sein | you (pl.) will have been there |
| sie/Sie | werden da gewesen sein | they will have been there |
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 | wäre da |
| du | wärest da |
| er/sie/es | wäre da |
| wir | wären da |
| ihr | wäret da |
| sie/Sie | wären da |
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 | sei da |
| ihr | seit da |