eignen (sich) — German conjugation
to be suitable
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 | eigne mich | I am suitable |
| du | eignest dich | you are suitable |
| er/sie/es | eignet sich | he/she/it is suitable |
| wir | eignen uns | we are suitable |
| ihr | eignet euch | you (pl.) are suitable |
| sie/Sie | eignen sich | they are suitable |
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 | eignete mich | I was suitable |
| du | eignetest dich | you were suitable |
| er/sie/es | eignete sich | he/she/it was suitable |
| wir | eigneten uns | we were suitable |
| ihr | eignetet euch | you (pl.) were suitable |
| sie/Sie | eigneten sich | they were suitable |
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 mich geeignet | I have been suitable |
| du | hast dich geeignet | you have been suitable |
| er/sie/es | hat sich geeignet | he/she/it has been suitable |
| wir | haben uns geeignet | we have been suitable |
| ihr | habt euch geeignet | you (pl.) have been suitable |
| sie/Sie | haben sich geeignet | they have been suitable |
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 mich geeignet | I had been suitable |
| du | hattest dich geeignet | you had been suitable |
| er/sie/es | hatte sich geeignet | he/she/it had been suitable |
| wir | hatten uns geeignet | we had been suitable |
| ihr | hattet euch geeignet | you (pl.) had been suitable |
| sie/Sie | hatten sich geeignet | they had been suitable |
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 mich eignen | I will be suitable |
| du | wirst dich eignen | you will be suitable |
| er/sie/es | wird sich eignen | he/she/it will be suitable |
| wir | werden uns eignen | we will be suitable |
| ihr | werdet euch eignen | you (pl.) will be suitable |
| sie/Sie | werden sich eignen | they will be suitable |
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 mich geeignet haben | I will have been suitable |
| du | wirst dich geeignet haben | you will have been suitable |
| er/sie/es | wird sich geeignet haben | he/she/it will have been suitable |
| wir | werden uns geeignet haben | we will have been suitable |
| ihr | werdet euch geeignet haben | you (pl.) will have been suitable |
| sie/Sie | werden sich geeignet haben | they will have been suitable |
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 | eignete mich |
| du | eignetest dich |
| er/sie/es | eignete sich |
| wir | eigneten uns |
| ihr | eignetet euch |
| sie/Sie | eigneten sich |
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 | eigne dich |
| ihr | eignet euch |