gebrechen — German conjugation
to be lacking
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 | gebreche | I am lacking |
| du | gebrichst | you are lacking |
| er/sie/es | gebricht | he/she/it is lacking |
| wir | gebrechen | we are lacking |
| ihr | gebrecht | you (pl.) are lacking |
| sie/Sie | gebrechen | they are lacking |
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 | gebrach | I was lacking |
| du | gebrachst | you were lacking |
| er/sie/es | gebrach | he/she/it was lacking |
| wir | gebrachen | we were lacking |
| ihr | gebracht | you (pl.) were lacking |
| sie/Sie | gebrachen | they were lacking |
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 | habe gebrochen | I have been lacking |
| du | hast gebrochen | you have been lacking |
| er/sie/es | hat gebrochen | he/she/it has been lacking |
| wir | haben gebrochen | we have been lacking |
| ihr | habt gebrochen | you (pl.) have been lacking |
| sie/Sie | haben gebrochen | they have been lacking |
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 | hatte gebrochen | I had been lacking |
| du | hattest gebrochen | you had been lacking |
| er/sie/es | hatte gebrochen | he/she/it had been lacking |
| wir | hatten gebrochen | we had been lacking |
| ihr | hattet gebrochen | you (pl.) had been lacking |
| sie/Sie | hatten gebrochen | they had been lacking |
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 gebrechen | I will be lacking |
| du | wirst gebrechen | you will be lacking |
| er/sie/es | wird gebrechen | he/she/it will be lacking |
| wir | werden gebrechen | we will be lacking |
| ihr | werdet gebrechen | you (pl.) will be lacking |
| sie/Sie | werden gebrechen | they will be lacking |
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 gebrochen haben | I will have been lacking |
| du | wirst gebrochen haben | you will have been lacking |
| er/sie/es | wird gebrochen haben | he/she/it will have been lacking |
| wir | werden gebrochen haben | we will have been lacking |
| ihr | werdet gebrochen haben | you (pl.) will have been lacking |
| sie/Sie | werden gebrochen haben | they will have been lacking |
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 | gebräche |
| du | gebrächest |
| er/sie/es | gebräche |
| wir | gebrächen |
| ihr | gebrächet |
| sie/Sie | gebrächen |
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 | gebrich |
| ihr | gebrecht |