erzählen — German conjugation
to tell, to narrate
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 | erzähle | I tell |
| du | erzählst | you tell |
| er/sie/es | erzählt | he/she/it tells |
| wir | erzählen | we tell |
| ihr | erzählt | you (pl.) tell |
| sie/Sie | erzählen | they tell |
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 | erzählte | I told |
| du | erzähltest | you told |
| er/sie/es | erzählte | he/she/it told |
| wir | erzählten | we told |
| ihr | erzähltet | you (pl.) told |
| sie/Sie | erzählten | they told |
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 erzählt | I have told |
| du | hast erzählt | you have told |
| er/sie/es | hat erzählt | he/she/it has told |
| wir | haben erzählt | we have told |
| ihr | habt erzählt | you (pl.) have told |
| sie/Sie | haben erzählt | they have told |
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 erzählt | I had told |
| du | hattest erzählt | you had told |
| er/sie/es | hatte erzählt | he/she/it had told |
| wir | hatten erzählt | we had told |
| ihr | hattet erzählt | you (pl.) had told |
| sie/Sie | hatten erzählt | they had told |
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 erzählen | I will tell |
| du | wirst erzählen | you will tell |
| er/sie/es | wird erzählen | he/she/it will tell |
| wir | werden erzählen | we will tell |
| ihr | werdet erzählen | you (pl.) will tell |
| sie/Sie | werden erzählen | they will tell |
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 erzählt haben | I will have told |
| du | wirst erzählt haben | you will have told |
| er/sie/es | wird erzählt haben | he/she/it will have told |
| wir | werden erzählt haben | we will have told |
| ihr | werdet erzählt haben | you (pl.) will have told |
| sie/Sie | werden erzählt haben | they will have told |
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 | erzählte |
| du | erzähltest |
| er/sie/es | erzählte |
| wir | erzählten |
| ihr | erzähltet |
| sie/Sie | erzählten |
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 | erzähle |
| ihr | erzählt |