quellen — German conjugation
to spring, to source
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 | quelle | I spring |
| du | quillst | you spring |
| er/sie/es | quillt | he/she/it springs |
| wir | quellen | we spring |
| ihr | quellt | you (pl.) spring |
| sie/Sie | quellen | they spring |
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 | quoll | I sprang |
| du | quollst | you sprang |
| er/sie/es | quoll | he/she/it sprang |
| wir | quollen | we sprang |
| ihr | quollt | you (pl.) sprang |
| sie/Sie | quollen | they sprang |
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 gequollen | I have sprung |
| du | bist gequollen | you have sprung |
| er/sie/es | ist gequollen | he/she/it has sprung |
| wir | sind gequollen | we have sprung |
| ihr | seid gequollen | you (pl.) have sprung |
| sie/Sie | sind gequollen | they have sprung |
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 gequollen | I had sprung |
| du | warst gequollen | you had sprung |
| er/sie/es | war gequollen | he/she/it had sprung |
| wir | waren gequollen | we had sprung |
| ihr | wart gequollen | you (pl.) had sprung |
| sie/Sie | waren gequollen | they had sprung |
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 quellen | I will spring |
| du | wirst quellen | you will spring |
| er/sie/es | wird quellen | he/she/it will spring |
| wir | werden quellen | we will spring |
| ihr | werdet quellen | you (pl.) will spring |
| sie/Sie | werden quellen | they will spring |
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 gequollen sein | I will have sprung |
| du | wirst gequollen sein | you will have sprung |
| er/sie/es | wird gequollen sein | he/she/it will have sprung |
| wir | werden gequollen sein | we will have sprung |
| ihr | werdet gequollen sein | you (pl.) will have sprung |
| sie/Sie | werden gequollen sein | they will have sprung |
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 | quölle |
| du | quöllest |
| er/sie/es | quölle |
| wir | quöllen |
| ihr | quöllet |
| sie/Sie | quöllen |
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 | quill |
| ihr | quellt |