pinseln — German conjugation
to paint (with a brush)
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 | pinsele | I paint |
| du | pinselst | you paint |
| er/sie/es | pinselt | he/she/it paints |
| wir | pinseln | we paint |
| ihr | pinselt | you (pl.) paint |
| sie/Sie | pinseln | they paint |
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 | pinselte | I painted |
| du | pinseltest | you painted |
| er/sie/es | pinselte | he/she/it painted |
| wir | pinselten | we painted |
| ihr | pinseltet | you (pl.) painted |
| sie/Sie | pinselten | they painted |
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 gepinselt | I have painted |
| du | hast gepinselt | you have painted |
| er/sie/es | hat gepinselt | he/she/it has painted |
| wir | haben gepinselt | we have painted |
| ihr | habt gepinselt | you (pl.) have painted |
| sie/Sie | haben gepinselt | they have painted |
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 gepinselt | I had painted |
| du | hattest gepinselt | you had painted |
| er/sie/es | hatte gepinselt | he/she/it had painted |
| wir | hatten gepinselt | we had painted |
| ihr | hattet gepinselt | you (pl.) had painted |
| sie/Sie | hatten gepinselt | they had painted |
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 pinseln | I will paint |
| du | wirst pinseln | you will paint |
| er/sie/es | wird pinseln | he/she/it will paint |
| wir | werden pinseln | we will paint |
| ihr | werdet pinseln | you (pl.) will paint |
| sie/Sie | werden pinseln | they will paint |
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 gepinselt haben | I will have painted |
| du | wirst gepinselt haben | you will have painted |
| er/sie/es | wird gepinselt haben | he/she/it will have painted |
| wir | werden gepinselt haben | we will have painted |
| ihr | werdet gepinselt haben | you (pl.) will have painted |
| sie/Sie | werden gepinselt haben | they will have painted |
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 | pinselte |
| du | pinseltest |
| er/sie/es | pinselte |
| wir | pinselten |
| ihr | pinseltet |
| sie/Sie | pinselten |
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 | pinsele |
| ihr | pinselt |