fallen — German conjugation
to fall
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
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 | falle | I fall |
| du | fällst | you fall |
| er/sie/es | fällt | he/she/it falls |
| wir | fallen | we fall |
| ihr | fallt | you (pl.) fall |
| sie/Sie | fallen | they fall |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
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 | fiel | I fell |
| du | fielst | you fell |
| er/sie/es | fiel | he/she/it fell |
| wir | fielen | we fell |
| ihr | fielt | you (pl.) fell |
| sie/Sie | fielen | they fell |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
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 | bin gefallen | I have fallen |
| du | bist gefallen | you have fallen |
| er/sie/es | ist gefallen | he/she/it has fallen |
| wir | sind gefallen | we have fallen |
| ihr | seid gefallen | you (pl.) have fallen |
| sie/Sie | sind gefallen | they have fallen |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
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 | war gefallen | I had fallen |
| du | warst gefallen | you had fallen |
| er/sie/es | war gefallen | he/she/it had fallen |
| wir | waren gefallen | we had fallen |
| ihr | wart gefallen | you (pl.) had fallen |
| sie/Sie | waren gefallen | they had fallen |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
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 fallen | I will fall |
| du | wirst fallen | you will fall |
| er/sie/es | wird fallen | he/she/it will fall |
| wir | werden fallen | we will fall |
| ihr | werdet fallen | you (pl.) will fall |
| sie/Sie | werden fallen | they will fall |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
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 gefallen sein | I will have fallen |
| du | wirst gefallen sein | you will have fallen |
| er/sie/es | wird gefallen sein | he/she/it will have fallen |
| wir | werden gefallen sein | we will have fallen |
| ihr | werdet gefallen sein | you (pl.) will have fallen |
| sie/Sie | werden gefallen sein | they will have fallen |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
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 | fiele |
| du | fielest |
| er/sie/es | fiele |
| wir | fielen |
| ihr | fielet |
| sie/Sie | fielen |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
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 | falle |
| ihr | fallt |