erklären — German conjugation
to explain, to make clear
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 | erkläre | I explain |
| du | erklärst | you explain |
| er/sie/es | erklärt | he/she/it explains |
| wir | erklären | we explain |
| ihr | erklärt | you (pl.) explain |
| sie/Sie | erklären | they explain |
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 | erklärte | I explained |
| du | erklärtest | you explained |
| er/sie/es | erklärte | he/she/it explained |
| wir | erklärten | we explained |
| ihr | erklärtet | you (pl.) explained |
| sie/Sie | erklärten | they explained |
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 erklärt | I have explained |
| du | hast erklärt | you have explained |
| er/sie/es | hat erklärt | he/she/it has explained |
| wir | haben erklärt | we have explained |
| ihr | habt erklärt | you (pl.) have explained |
| sie/Sie | haben erklärt | they have explained |
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 erklärt | I had explained |
| du | hattest erklärt | you had explained |
| er/sie/es | hatte erklärt | he/she/it had explained |
| wir | hatten erklärt | we had explained |
| ihr | hattet erklärt | you (pl.) had explained |
| sie/Sie | hatten erklärt | they had explained |
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 erklären | I will explain |
| du | wirst erklären | you will explain |
| er/sie/es | wird erklären | he/she/it will explain |
| wir | werden erklären | we will explain |
| ihr | werdet erklären | you (pl.) will explain |
| sie/Sie | werden erklären | they will explain |
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 erklärt haben | I will have explained |
| du | wirst erklärt haben | you will have explained |
| er/sie/es | wird erklärt haben | he/she/it will have explained |
| wir | werden erklärt haben | we will have explained |
| ihr | werdet erklärt haben | you (pl.) will have explained |
| sie/Sie | werden erklärt haben | they will have explained |
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 | erklärte |
| du | erklärtest |
| er/sie/es | erklärte |
| wir | erklärten |
| ihr | erklärtet |
| sie/Sie | erklärten |
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 | erkläre |
| ihr | erklärt |