rudern — German conjugation
to row (propel over water using oars)
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 | rudere | I row |
| du | ruderst | you row |
| er/sie/es | rudert | he/she/it rows |
| wir | rudern | we row |
| ihr | rudert | you (pl.) row |
| sie/Sie | rudern | they row |
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 | ruderte | I rowed |
| du | rudertest | you rowed |
| er/sie/es | ruderte | he/she/it rowed |
| wir | ruderten | we rowed |
| ihr | rudertet | you (pl.) rowed |
| sie/Sie | ruderten | they rowed |
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 gerudert | I have rowed |
| du | bist gerudert | you have rowed |
| er/sie/es | ist gerudert | he/she/it has rowed |
| wir | sind gerudert | we have rowed |
| ihr | seid gerudert | you (pl.) have rowed |
| sie/Sie | sind gerudert | they have rowed |
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 gerudert | I had rowed |
| du | warst gerudert | you had rowed |
| er/sie/es | war gerudert | he/she/it had rowed |
| wir | waren gerudert | we had rowed |
| ihr | wart gerudert | you (pl.) had rowed |
| sie/Sie | waren gerudert | they had rowed |
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 rudern | I will row |
| du | wirst rudern | you will row |
| er/sie/es | wird rudern | he/she/it will row |
| wir | werden rudern | we will row |
| ihr | werdet rudern | you (pl.) will row |
| sie/Sie | werden rudern | they will row |
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 gerudert sein | I will have rowed |
| du | wirst gerudert sein | you will have rowed |
| er/sie/es | wird gerudert sein | he/she/it will have rowed |
| wir | werden gerudert sein | we will have rowed |
| ihr | werdet gerudert sein | you (pl.) will have rowed |
| sie/Sie | werden gerudert sein | they will have rowed |
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 | ruderte |
| du | rudertest |
| er/sie/es | ruderte |
| wir | ruderten |
| ihr | rudertet |
| sie/Sie | ruderten |
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 | rudere |
| ihr | rudert |