reiben — German conjugation
to rub; to chafe
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 | reibe | I rub |
| du | reibst | you rub |
| er/sie/es | reibt | he/she/it rubs |
| wir | reiben | we rub |
| ihr | reibt | you (pl.) rub |
| sie/Sie | reiben | they rub |
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 | rieb | I rubbed |
| du | riebst | you rubbed |
| er/sie/es | rieb | he/she/it rubbed |
| wir | rieben | we rubbed |
| ihr | riebt | you (pl.) rubbed |
| sie/Sie | rieben | they rubbed |
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 gerieben | I have rubbed |
| du | hast gerieben | you have rubbed |
| er/sie/es | hat gerieben | he/she/it has rubbed |
| wir | haben gerieben | we have rubbed |
| ihr | habt gerieben | you (pl.) have rubbed |
| sie/Sie | haben gerieben | they have rubbed |
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 gerieben | I had rubbed |
| du | hattest gerieben | you had rubbed |
| er/sie/es | hatte gerieben | he/she/it had rubbed |
| wir | hatten gerieben | we had rubbed |
| ihr | hattet gerieben | you (pl.) had rubbed |
| sie/Sie | hatten gerieben | they had rubbed |
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 reiben | I will rub |
| du | wirst reiben | you will rub |
| er/sie/es | wird reiben | he/she/it will rub |
| wir | werden reiben | we will rub |
| ihr | werdet reiben | you (pl.) will rub |
| sie/Sie | werden reiben | they will rub |
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 gerieben haben | I will have rubbed |
| du | wirst gerieben haben | you will have rubbed |
| er/sie/es | wird gerieben haben | he/she/it will have rubbed |
| wir | werden gerieben haben | we will have rubbed |
| ihr | werdet gerieben haben | you (pl.) will have rubbed |
| sie/Sie | werden gerieben haben | they will have rubbed |
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 | riebe |
| du | riebest |
| er/sie/es | riebe |
| wir | rieben |
| ihr | riebet |
| sie/Sie | rieben |
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 | reibe |
| ihr | reibt |