säumen — German conjugation
to delay
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 | säume | I delay |
| du | säumst | you delay |
| er/sie/es | säumt | he/she/it delays |
| wir | säumen | we delay |
| ihr | säumt | you (pl.) delay |
| sie/Sie | säumen | they delay |
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 | säumte | I delayed |
| du | säumtest | you delayed |
| er/sie/es | säumte | he/she/it delayed |
| wir | säumten | we delayed |
| ihr | säumtet | you (pl.) delayed |
| sie/Sie | säumten | they delayed |
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 gesäumt | I have delayed |
| du | hast gesäumt | you have delayed |
| er/sie/es | hat gesäumt | he/she/it has delayed |
| wir | haben gesäumt | we have delayed |
| ihr | habt gesäumt | you (pl.) have delayed |
| sie/Sie | haben gesäumt | they have delayed |
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 gesäumt | I had delayed |
| du | hattest gesäumt | you had delayed |
| er/sie/es | hatte gesäumt | he/she/it had delayed |
| wir | hatten gesäumt | we had delayed |
| ihr | hattet gesäumt | you (pl.) had delayed |
| sie/Sie | hatten gesäumt | they had delayed |
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 säumen | I will delay |
| du | wirst säumen | you will delay |
| er/sie/es | wird säumen | he/she/it will delay |
| wir | werden säumen | we will delay |
| ihr | werdet säumen | you (pl.) will delay |
| sie/Sie | werden säumen | they will delay |
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 gesäumt haben | I will have delayed |
| du | wirst gesäumt haben | you will have delayed |
| er/sie/es | wird gesäumt haben | he/she/it will have delayed |
| wir | werden gesäumt haben | we will have delayed |
| ihr | werdet gesäumt haben | you (pl.) will have delayed |
| sie/Sie | werden gesäumt haben | they will have delayed |
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 | säumte |
| du | säumtest |
| er/sie/es | säumte |
| wir | säumten |
| ihr | säumtet |
| sie/Sie | säumten |
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 | säume |
| ihr | säumt |