hinterlassen — German conjugation
to leave behind
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 | hinterlasse | I leave behind |
| du | hinterlässt | you leave behind |
| er/sie/es | hinterlässt | he/she/it leaves behind |
| wir | hinterlassen | we leave behind |
| ihr | hinterlasst | you (pl.) leave behind |
| sie/Sie | hinterlassen | they leave behind |
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 | hinterließ | I left behind |
| du | hinterließest | you left behind |
| er/sie/es | hinterließ | he/she/it left behind |
| wir | hinterließen | we left behind |
| ihr | hinterließt | you (pl.) left behind |
| sie/Sie | hinterließen | they left behind |
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 hinterlassen | I have left behind |
| du | hast hinterlassen | you have left behind |
| er/sie/es | hat hinterlassen | he/she/it has left behind |
| wir | haben hinterlassen | we have left behind |
| ihr | habt hinterlassen | you (pl.) have left behind |
| sie/Sie | haben hinterlassen | they have left behind |
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 hinterlassen | I had left behind |
| du | hattest hinterlassen | you had left behind |
| er/sie/es | hatte hinterlassen | he/she/it had left behind |
| wir | hatten hinterlassen | we had left behind |
| ihr | hattet hinterlassen | you (pl.) had left behind |
| sie/Sie | hatten hinterlassen | they had left behind |
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 hinterlassen | I will leave behind |
| du | wirst hinterlassen | you will leave behind |
| er/sie/es | wird hinterlassen | he/she/it will leave behind |
| wir | werden hinterlassen | we will leave behind |
| ihr | werdet hinterlassen | you (pl.) will leave behind |
| sie/Sie | werden hinterlassen | they will leave behind |
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 hinterlassen haben | I will have left behind |
| du | wirst hinterlassen haben | you will have left behind |
| er/sie/es | wird hinterlassen haben | he/she/it will have left behind |
| wir | werden hinterlassen haben | we will have left behind |
| ihr | werdet hinterlassen haben | you (pl.) will have left behind |
| sie/Sie | werden hinterlassen haben | they will have left behind |
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 | hinterließe |
| du | hinterließest |
| er/sie/es | hinterließe |
| wir | hinterließen |
| ihr | hinterließet |
| sie/Sie | hinterließen |
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 | hinterlasse |
| ihr | hinterlasst |