fliegen — German conjugation
to fly
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 | fliege | I fly |
| du | fliegst | you fly |
| er/sie/es | fliegt | he/she/it flies |
| wir | fliegen | we fly |
| ihr | fliegt | you (pl.) fly |
| sie/Sie | fliegen | they fly |
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 | flog | I flew |
| du | flogst | you flew |
| er/sie/es | flog | he/she/it flew |
| wir | flogen | we flew |
| ihr | flogt | you (pl.) flew |
| sie/Sie | flogen | they flew |
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 geflogen | I have flown |
| du | bist geflogen | you have flown |
| er/sie/es | ist geflogen | he/she/it has flown |
| wir | sind geflogen | we have flown |
| ihr | seid geflogen | you (pl.) have flown |
| sie/Sie | sind geflogen | they have flown |
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 geflogen | I had flown |
| du | warst geflogen | you had flown |
| er/sie/es | war geflogen | he/she/it had flown |
| wir | waren geflogen | we had flown |
| ihr | wart geflogen | you (pl.) had flown |
| sie/Sie | waren geflogen | they had flown |
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 fliegen | I will fly |
| du | wirst fliegen | you will fly |
| er/sie/es | wird fliegen | he/she/it will fly |
| wir | werden fliegen | we will fly |
| ihr | werdet fliegen | you (pl.) will fly |
| sie/Sie | werden fliegen | they will fly |
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 geflogen sein | I will have flown |
| du | wirst geflogen sein | you will have flown |
| er/sie/es | wird geflogen sein | he/she/it will have flown |
| wir | werden geflogen sein | we will have flown |
| ihr | werdet geflogen sein | you (pl.) will have flown |
| sie/Sie | werden geflogen sein | they will have flown |
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 | flöge |
| du | flögest |
| er/sie/es | flöge |
| wir | flögen |
| ihr | flöget |
| sie/Sie | flögen |
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 | fliege |
| ihr | fliegt |