fertig sein — German conjugation
to be ready
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 | bin fertig | I am ready |
| du | bist fertig | you are ready |
| er/sie/es | ist fertig | he/she/it is ready |
| wir | sind fertig | we are ready |
| ihr | seid fertig | you (pl.) are ready |
| sie/Sie | sind fertig | they are ready |
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 | war fertig | I was ready |
| du | warst fertig | you were ready |
| er/sie/es | war fertig | he/she/it was ready |
| wir | waren fertig | we were ready |
| ihr | wart fertig | you (pl.) were ready |
| sie/Sie | waren fertig | they were ready |
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 fertig gewesen | I have been ready |
| du | bist fertig gewesen | you have been ready |
| er/sie/es | ist fertig gewesen | he/she/it has been ready |
| wir | sind fertig gewesen | we have been ready |
| ihr | seid fertig gewesen | you (pl.) have been ready |
| sie/Sie | sind fertig gewesen | they have been ready |
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 fertig gewesen | I had been ready |
| du | warst fertig gewesen | you had been ready |
| er/sie/es | war fertig gewesen | he/she/it had been ready |
| wir | waren fertig gewesen | we had been ready |
| ihr | wart fertig gewesen | you (pl.) had been ready |
| sie/Sie | waren fertig gewesen | they had been ready |
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 fertig sein | I will be ready |
| du | wirst fertig sein | you will be ready |
| er/sie/es | wird fertig sein | he/she/it will be ready |
| wir | werden fertig sein | we will be ready |
| ihr | werdet fertig sein | you (pl.) will be ready |
| sie/Sie | werden fertig sein | they will be ready |
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 fertig gewesen sein | I will have been ready |
| du | wirst fertig gewesen sein | you will have been ready |
| er/sie/es | wird fertig gewesen sein | he/she/it will have been ready |
| wir | werden fertig gewesen sein | we will have been ready |
| ihr | werdet fertig gewesen sein | you (pl.) will have been ready |
| sie/Sie | werden fertig gewesen sein | they will have been ready |
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 | wäre fertig |
| du | wärest fertig |
| er/sie/es | wäre fertig |
| wir | wären fertig |
| ihr | wäret fertig |
| sie/Sie | wären fertig |
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 | sei fertig |
| ihr | seit fertig |