knechten — German conjugation
to enslave (to make a person an indentured Knecht)
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 | knechte | I enslave |
| du | knechtest | you enslave |
| er/sie/es | knechtet | he/she/it enslaves |
| wir | knechten | we enslave |
| ihr | knechtet | you (pl.) enslave |
| sie/Sie | knechten | they enslave |
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 | knechtete | I enslaved |
| du | knechtetest | you enslaved |
| er/sie/es | knechtete | he/she/it enslaved |
| wir | knechteten | we enslaved |
| ihr | knechtetet | you (pl.) enslaved |
| sie/Sie | knechteten | they enslaved |
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 geknechtet | I have enslaved |
| du | hast geknechtet | you have enslaved |
| er/sie/es | hat geknechtet | he/she/it has enslaved |
| wir | haben geknechtet | we have enslaved |
| ihr | habt geknechtet | you (pl.) have enslaved |
| sie/Sie | haben geknechtet | they have enslaved |
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 geknechtet | I had enslaved |
| du | hattest geknechtet | you had enslaved |
| er/sie/es | hatte geknechtet | he/she/it had enslaved |
| wir | hatten geknechtet | we had enslaved |
| ihr | hattet geknechtet | you (pl.) had enslaved |
| sie/Sie | hatten geknechtet | they had enslaved |
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 knechten | I will enslave |
| du | wirst knechten | you will enslave |
| er/sie/es | wird knechten | he/she/it will enslave |
| wir | werden knechten | we will enslave |
| ihr | werdet knechten | you (pl.) will enslave |
| sie/Sie | werden knechten | they will enslave |
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 geknechtet haben | I will have enslaved |
| du | wirst geknechtet haben | you will have enslaved |
| er/sie/es | wird geknechtet haben | he/she/it will have enslaved |
| wir | werden geknechtet haben | we will have enslaved |
| ihr | werdet geknechtet haben | you (pl.) will have enslaved |
| sie/Sie | werden geknechtet haben | they will have enslaved |
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 | knechtete |
| du | knechtetest |
| er/sie/es | knechtete |
| wir | knechteten |
| ihr | knechtetet |
| sie/Sie | knechteten |
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 | knechte |
| ihr | knechtet |