erpressen — German conjugation
to blackmail
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 | erpresse | I blackmail |
| du | erpresst | you blackmail |
| er/sie/es | erpresst | he/she/it blackmails |
| wir | erpressen | we blackmail |
| ihr | erpresst | you (pl.) blackmail |
| sie/Sie | erpressen | they blackmail |
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 | erpresste | I blackmailed |
| du | erpresstest | you blackmailed |
| er/sie/es | erpresste | he/she/it blackmailed |
| wir | erpressten | we blackmailed |
| ihr | erpresstet | you (pl.) blackmailed |
| sie/Sie | erpressten | they blackmailed |
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 erpresst | I have blackmailed |
| du | hast erpresst | you have blackmailed |
| er/sie/es | hat erpresst | he/she/it has blackmailed |
| wir | haben erpresst | we have blackmailed |
| ihr | habt erpresst | you (pl.) have blackmailed |
| sie/Sie | haben erpresst | they have blackmailed |
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 erpresst | I had blackmailed |
| du | hattest erpresst | you had blackmailed |
| er/sie/es | hatte erpresst | he/she/it had blackmailed |
| wir | hatten erpresst | we had blackmailed |
| ihr | hattet erpresst | you (pl.) had blackmailed |
| sie/Sie | hatten erpresst | they had blackmailed |
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 erpressen | I will blackmail |
| du | wirst erpressen | you will blackmail |
| er/sie/es | wird erpressen | he/she/it will blackmail |
| wir | werden erpressen | we will blackmail |
| ihr | werdet erpressen | you (pl.) will blackmail |
| sie/Sie | werden erpressen | they will blackmail |
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 erpresst haben | I will have blackmailed |
| du | wirst erpresst haben | you will have blackmailed |
| er/sie/es | wird erpresst haben | he/she/it will have blackmailed |
| wir | werden erpresst haben | we will have blackmailed |
| ihr | werdet erpresst haben | you (pl.) will have blackmailed |
| sie/Sie | werden erpresst haben | they will have blackmailed |
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 | erpresste |
| du | erpresstest |
| er/sie/es | erpresste |
| wir | erpressten |
| ihr | erpresstet |
| sie/Sie | erpressten |
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 | erpresse |
| ihr | erpresst |