reisen — German conjugation
to travel
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 | reise | I travel |
| du | reist | you travel |
| er/sie/es | reist | he/she/it travels |
| wir | reisen | we travel |
| ihr | reist | you (pl.) travel |
| sie/Sie | reisen | they travel |
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 | reiste | I travelled |
| du | reistest | you travelled |
| er/sie/es | reiste | he/she/it travelled |
| wir | reisten | we travelled |
| ihr | reistet | you (pl.) travelled |
| sie/Sie | reisten | they travelled |
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 | bin gereist | I have travelled |
| du | bist gereist | you have travelled |
| er/sie/es | ist gereist | he/she/it has travelled |
| wir | sind gereist | we have travelled |
| ihr | seid gereist | you (pl.) have travelled |
| sie/Sie | sind gereist | they have travelled |
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 | war gereist | I had travelled |
| du | warst gereist | you had travelled |
| er/sie/es | war gereist | he/she/it had travelled |
| wir | waren gereist | we had travelled |
| ihr | wart gereist | you (pl.) had travelled |
| sie/Sie | waren gereist | they had travelled |
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 reisen | I will travel |
| du | wirst reisen | you will travel |
| er/sie/es | wird reisen | he/she/it will travel |
| wir | werden reisen | we will travel |
| ihr | werdet reisen | you (pl.) will travel |
| sie/Sie | werden reisen | they will travel |
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 gereist sein | I will have travelled |
| du | wirst gereist sein | you will have travelled |
| er/sie/es | wird gereist sein | he/she/it will have travelled |
| wir | werden gereist sein | we will have travelled |
| ihr | werdet gereist sein | you (pl.) will have travelled |
| sie/Sie | werden gereist sein | they will have travelled |
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 | reiste |
| du | reistest |
| er/sie/es | reiste |
| wir | reisten |
| ihr | reistet |
| sie/Sie | reisten |
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 | reise |
| ihr | reist |