misslingen — German conjugation
to fail
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 | misslinge | I fail |
| du | misslingst | you fail |
| er/sie/es | misslingt | he/she/it fails |
| wir | misslingen | we fail |
| ihr | misslingt | you (pl.) fail |
| sie/Sie | misslingen | they fail |
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 | misslang | I failed |
| du | misslangst | you failed |
| er/sie/es | misslang | he/she/it failed |
| wir | misslangen | we failed |
| ihr | misslangt | you (pl.) failed |
| sie/Sie | misslangen | they failed |
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 | bin misslungen | I have failed |
| du | bist misslungen | you have failed |
| er/sie/es | ist misslungen | he/she/it has failed |
| wir | sind misslungen | we have failed |
| ihr | seid misslungen | you (pl.) have failed |
| sie/Sie | sind misslungen | they have failed |
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 | war misslungen | I had failed |
| du | warst misslungen | you had failed |
| er/sie/es | war misslungen | he/she/it had failed |
| wir | waren misslungen | we had failed |
| ihr | wart misslungen | you (pl.) had failed |
| sie/Sie | waren misslungen | they had failed |
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 misslingen | I will fail |
| du | wirst misslingen | you will fail |
| er/sie/es | wird misslingen | he/she/it will fail |
| wir | werden misslingen | we will fail |
| ihr | werdet misslingen | you (pl.) will fail |
| sie/Sie | werden misslingen | they will fail |
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 misslungen sein | I will have failed |
| du | wirst misslungen sein | you will have failed |
| er/sie/es | wird misslungen sein | he/she/it will have failed |
| wir | werden misslungen sein | we will have failed |
| ihr | werdet misslungen sein | you (pl.) will have failed |
| sie/Sie | werden misslungen sein | they will have failed |
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 | misslänge |
| du | misslängest |
| er/sie/es | misslänge |
| wir | misslängen |
| ihr | misslänget |
| sie/Sie | misslängen |
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 | misslinge |
| ihr | misslingt |