niederschlagen — German conjugation
to defeat
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 | schlage nieder | I defeat |
| du | schlägst nieder | you defeat |
| er/sie/es | schlägt nieder | he/she/it defeats |
| wir | schlagen nieder | we defeat |
| ihr | schlagt nieder | you (pl.) defeat |
| sie/Sie | schlagen nieder | they defeat |
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 | schlug nieder | I defeated |
| du | schlugst nieder | you defeated |
| er/sie/es | schlug nieder | he/she/it defeated |
| wir | schlugen nieder | we defeated |
| ihr | schlugt nieder | you (pl.) defeated |
| sie/Sie | schlugen nieder | they defeated |
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 niedergeschlagen | I have defeated |
| du | hast niedergeschlagen | you have defeated |
| er/sie/es | hat niedergeschlagen | he/she/it has defeated |
| wir | haben niedergeschlagen | we have defeated |
| ihr | habt niedergeschlagen | you (pl.) have defeated |
| sie/Sie | haben niedergeschlagen | they have defeated |
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 niedergeschlagen | I had defeated |
| du | hattest niedergeschlagen | you had defeated |
| er/sie/es | hatte niedergeschlagen | he/she/it had defeated |
| wir | hatten niedergeschlagen | we had defeated |
| ihr | hattet niedergeschlagen | you (pl.) had defeated |
| sie/Sie | hatten niedergeschlagen | they had defeated |
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 niederschlagen | I will defeat |
| du | wirst niederschlagen | you will defeat |
| er/sie/es | wird niederschlagen | he/she/it will defeat |
| wir | werden niederschlagen | we will defeat |
| ihr | werdet niederschlagen | you (pl.) will defeat |
| sie/Sie | werden niederschlagen | they will defeat |
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 niedergeschlagen haben | I will have defeated |
| du | wirst niedergeschlagen haben | you will have defeated |
| er/sie/es | wird niedergeschlagen haben | he/she/it will have defeated |
| wir | werden niedergeschlagen haben | we will have defeated |
| ihr | werdet niedergeschlagen haben | you (pl.) will have defeated |
| sie/Sie | werden niedergeschlagen haben | they will have defeated |
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 | schlüge nieder |
| du | schlügest nieder |
| er/sie/es | schlüge nieder |
| wir | schlügen nieder |
| ihr | schlüget nieder |
| sie/Sie | schlügen nieder |
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 | schlage nieder |
| ihr | schlagt nieder |