dampfen — German conjugation
to steam
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 | dampfe | I steam |
| du | dampfst | you steam |
| er/sie/es | dampft | he/she/it steams |
| wir | dampfen | we steam |
| ihr | dampft | you (pl.) steam |
| sie/Sie | dampfen | they steam |
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 | dampfte | I steamed |
| du | dampftest | you steamed |
| er/sie/es | dampfte | he/she/it steamed |
| wir | dampften | we steamed |
| ihr | dampftet | you (pl.) steamed |
| sie/Sie | dampften | they steamed |
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 gedampft | I have steamed |
| du | hast gedampft | you have steamed |
| er/sie/es | hat gedampft | he/she/it has steamed |
| wir | haben gedampft | we have steamed |
| ihr | habt gedampft | you (pl.) have steamed |
| sie/Sie | haben gedampft | they have steamed |
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 gedampft | I had steamed |
| du | hattest gedampft | you had steamed |
| er/sie/es | hatte gedampft | he/she/it had steamed |
| wir | hatten gedampft | we had steamed |
| ihr | hattet gedampft | you (pl.) had steamed |
| sie/Sie | hatten gedampft | they had steamed |
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 dampfen | I will steam |
| du | wirst dampfen | you will steam |
| er/sie/es | wird dampfen | he/she/it will steam |
| wir | werden dampfen | we will steam |
| ihr | werdet dampfen | you (pl.) will steam |
| sie/Sie | werden dampfen | they will steam |
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 gedampft haben | I will have steamed |
| du | wirst gedampft haben | you will have steamed |
| er/sie/es | wird gedampft haben | he/she/it will have steamed |
| wir | werden gedampft haben | we will have steamed |
| ihr | werdet gedampft haben | you (pl.) will have steamed |
| sie/Sie | werden gedampft haben | they will have steamed |
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 | dampfte |
| du | dampftest |
| er/sie/es | dampfte |
| wir | dampften |
| ihr | dampftet |
| sie/Sie | dampften |
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 | dampfe |
| ihr | dampft |