kneifen — German conjugation
to pinch, to squeeze
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 | kneife | I pinch |
| du | kneifst | you pinch |
| er/sie/es | kneift | he/she/it pinches |
| wir | kneifen | we pinch |
| ihr | kneift | you (pl.) pinch |
| sie/Sie | kneifen | they pinch |
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 | kniff | I pinched |
| du | kniffst | you pinched |
| er/sie/es | kniff | he/she/it pinched |
| wir | kniffen | we pinched |
| ihr | knifft | you (pl.) pinched |
| sie/Sie | kniffen | they pinched |
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 gekniffen | I have pinched |
| du | hast gekniffen | you have pinched |
| er/sie/es | hat gekniffen | he/she/it has pinched |
| wir | haben gekniffen | we have pinched |
| ihr | habt gekniffen | you (pl.) have pinched |
| sie/Sie | haben gekniffen | they have pinched |
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 gekniffen | I had pinched |
| du | hattest gekniffen | you had pinched |
| er/sie/es | hatte gekniffen | he/she/it had pinched |
| wir | hatten gekniffen | we had pinched |
| ihr | hattet gekniffen | you (pl.) had pinched |
| sie/Sie | hatten gekniffen | they had pinched |
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 kneifen | I will pinch |
| du | wirst kneifen | you will pinch |
| er/sie/es | wird kneifen | he/she/it will pinch |
| wir | werden kneifen | we will pinch |
| ihr | werdet kneifen | you (pl.) will pinch |
| sie/Sie | werden kneifen | they will pinch |
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 gekniffen haben | I will have pinched |
| du | wirst gekniffen haben | you will have pinched |
| er/sie/es | wird gekniffen haben | he/she/it will have pinched |
| wir | werden gekniffen haben | we will have pinched |
| ihr | werdet gekniffen haben | you (pl.) will have pinched |
| sie/Sie | werden gekniffen haben | they will have pinched |
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 | kniffe |
| du | kniffest |
| er/sie/es | kniffe |
| wir | kniffen |
| ihr | kniffet |
| sie/Sie | kniffen |
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 | kneife |
| ihr | kneift |