gestalten — German conjugation
to shape
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 | gestalte | I shape |
| du | gestaltest | you shape |
| er/sie/es | gestaltet | he/she/it shapes |
| wir | gestalten | we shape |
| ihr | gestaltet | you (pl.) shape |
| sie/Sie | gestalten | they shape |
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 | gestaltete | I shaped |
| du | gestaltetest | you shaped |
| er/sie/es | gestaltete | he/she/it shaped |
| wir | gestalteten | we shaped |
| ihr | gestaltetet | you (pl.) shaped |
| sie/Sie | gestalteten | they shaped |
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 gestaltet | I have shaped |
| du | hast gestaltet | you have shaped |
| er/sie/es | hat gestaltet | he/she/it has shaped |
| wir | haben gestaltet | we have shaped |
| ihr | habt gestaltet | you (pl.) have shaped |
| sie/Sie | haben gestaltet | they have shaped |
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 gestaltet | I had shaped |
| du | hattest gestaltet | you had shaped |
| er/sie/es | hatte gestaltet | he/she/it had shaped |
| wir | hatten gestaltet | we had shaped |
| ihr | hattet gestaltet | you (pl.) had shaped |
| sie/Sie | hatten gestaltet | they had shaped |
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 gestalten | I will shape |
| du | wirst gestalten | you will shape |
| er/sie/es | wird gestalten | he/she/it will shape |
| wir | werden gestalten | we will shape |
| ihr | werdet gestalten | you (pl.) will shape |
| sie/Sie | werden gestalten | they will shape |
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 gestaltet haben | I will have shaped |
| du | wirst gestaltet haben | you will have shaped |
| er/sie/es | wird gestaltet haben | he/she/it will have shaped |
| wir | werden gestaltet haben | we will have shaped |
| ihr | werdet gestaltet haben | you (pl.) will have shaped |
| sie/Sie | werden gestaltet haben | they will have shaped |
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 | gestaltete |
| du | gestaltetest |
| er/sie/es | gestaltete |
| wir | gestalteten |
| ihr | gestaltetet |
| sie/Sie | gestalteten |
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 | gestalte |
| ihr | gestaltet |