richten — German conjugation
to direct
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 | richte | I direct |
| du | richtest | you direct |
| er/sie/es | richtet | he/she/it directs |
| wir | richten | we direct |
| ihr | richtet | you (pl.) direct |
| sie/Sie | richten | they direct |
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 | richtete | I directed |
| du | richtetest | you directed |
| er/sie/es | richtete | he/she/it directed |
| wir | richteten | we directed |
| ihr | richtetet | you (pl.) directed |
| sie/Sie | richteten | they directed |
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 gerichtet | I have directed |
| du | hast gerichtet | you have directed |
| er/sie/es | hat gerichtet | he/she/it has directed |
| wir | haben gerichtet | we have directed |
| ihr | habt gerichtet | you (pl.) have directed |
| sie/Sie | haben gerichtet | they have directed |
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 gerichtet | I had directed |
| du | hattest gerichtet | you had directed |
| er/sie/es | hatte gerichtet | he/she/it had directed |
| wir | hatten gerichtet | we had directed |
| ihr | hattet gerichtet | you (pl.) had directed |
| sie/Sie | hatten gerichtet | they had directed |
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 richten | I will direct |
| du | wirst richten | you will direct |
| er/sie/es | wird richten | he/she/it will direct |
| wir | werden richten | we will direct |
| ihr | werdet richten | you (pl.) will direct |
| sie/Sie | werden richten | they will direct |
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 gerichtet haben | I will have directed |
| du | wirst gerichtet haben | you will have directed |
| er/sie/es | wird gerichtet haben | he/she/it will have directed |
| wir | werden gerichtet haben | we will have directed |
| ihr | werdet gerichtet haben | you (pl.) will have directed |
| sie/Sie | werden gerichtet haben | they will have directed |
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 | richtete |
| du | richtetest |
| er/sie/es | richtete |
| wir | richteten |
| ihr | richtetet |
| sie/Sie | richteten |
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 | richte |
| ihr | richtet |