entdecken — German conjugation
to discover, to spot, to learn for the first time
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 | entdecke | I discover |
| du | entdeckst | you discover |
| er/sie/es | entdeckt | he/she/it discovers |
| wir | entdecken | we discover |
| ihr | entdeckt | you (pl.) discover |
| sie/Sie | entdecken | they discover |
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 | entdeckte | I discovered |
| du | entdecktest | you discovered |
| er/sie/es | entdeckte | he/she/it discovered |
| wir | entdeckten | we discovered |
| ihr | entdecktet | you (pl.) discovered |
| sie/Sie | entdeckten | they discovered |
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 entdeckt | I have discovered |
| du | hast entdeckt | you have discovered |
| er/sie/es | hat entdeckt | he/she/it has discovered |
| wir | haben entdeckt | we have discovered |
| ihr | habt entdeckt | you (pl.) have discovered |
| sie/Sie | haben entdeckt | they have discovered |
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 entdeckt | I had discovered |
| du | hattest entdeckt | you had discovered |
| er/sie/es | hatte entdeckt | he/she/it had discovered |
| wir | hatten entdeckt | we had discovered |
| ihr | hattet entdeckt | you (pl.) had discovered |
| sie/Sie | hatten entdeckt | they had discovered |
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 entdecken | I will discover |
| du | wirst entdecken | you will discover |
| er/sie/es | wird entdecken | he/she/it will discover |
| wir | werden entdecken | we will discover |
| ihr | werdet entdecken | you (pl.) will discover |
| sie/Sie | werden entdecken | they will discover |
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 entdeckt haben | I will have discovered |
| du | wirst entdeckt haben | you will have discovered |
| er/sie/es | wird entdeckt haben | he/she/it will have discovered |
| wir | werden entdeckt haben | we will have discovered |
| ihr | werdet entdeckt haben | you (pl.) will have discovered |
| sie/Sie | werden entdeckt haben | they will have discovered |
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 | entdeckte |
| du | entdecktest |
| er/sie/es | entdeckte |
| wir | entdeckten |
| ihr | entdecktet |
| sie/Sie | entdeckten |
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 | entdecke |
| ihr | entdeckt |