mahlen — German conjugation
to grind
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 | mahle | I grind |
| du | mahlst | you grind |
| er/sie/es | mahlt | he/she/it grinds |
| wir | mahlen | we grind |
| ihr | mahlt | you (pl.) grind |
| sie/Sie | mahlen | they grind |
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 | mahlte | I ground |
| du | mahltest | you ground |
| er/sie/es | mahlte | he/she/it ground |
| wir | mahlten | we ground |
| ihr | mahltet | you (pl.) ground |
| sie/Sie | mahlten | they ground |
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 gemahlen | I have ground |
| du | hast gemahlen | you have ground |
| er/sie/es | hat gemahlen | he/she/it has ground |
| wir | haben gemahlen | we have ground |
| ihr | habt gemahlen | you (pl.) have ground |
| sie/Sie | haben gemahlen | they have ground |
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 gemahlen | I had ground |
| du | hattest gemahlen | you had ground |
| er/sie/es | hatte gemahlen | he/she/it had ground |
| wir | hatten gemahlen | we had ground |
| ihr | hattet gemahlen | you (pl.) had ground |
| sie/Sie | hatten gemahlen | they had ground |
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 mahlen | I will grind |
| du | wirst mahlen | you will grind |
| er/sie/es | wird mahlen | he/she/it will grind |
| wir | werden mahlen | we will grind |
| ihr | werdet mahlen | you (pl.) will grind |
| sie/Sie | werden mahlen | they will grind |
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 gemahlen haben | I will have ground |
| du | wirst gemahlen haben | you will have ground |
| er/sie/es | wird gemahlen haben | he/she/it will have ground |
| wir | werden gemahlen haben | we will have ground |
| ihr | werdet gemahlen haben | you (pl.) will have ground |
| sie/Sie | werden gemahlen haben | they will have ground |
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 | mahlte |
| du | mahltest |
| er/sie/es | mahlte |
| wir | mahlten |
| ihr | mahltet |
| sie/Sie | mahlten |
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 | mahle |
| ihr | mahlt |