schaffen — German conjugation
to manage, to accomplish
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 | schaffe | I manage |
| du | schaffst | you manage |
| er/sie/es | schafft | he/she/it manages |
| wir | schaffen | we manage |
| ihr | schafft | you (pl.) manage |
| sie/Sie | schaffen | they manage |
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 | schaffte | I managed |
| du | schafftest | you managed |
| er/sie/es | schaffte | he/she/it managed |
| wir | schafften | we managed |
| ihr | schafftet | you (pl.) managed |
| sie/Sie | schafften | they managed |
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 geschafft | I have managed |
| du | hast geschafft | you have managed |
| er/sie/es | hat geschafft | he/she/it has managed |
| wir | haben geschafft | we have managed |
| ihr | habt geschafft | you (pl.) have managed |
| sie/Sie | haben geschafft | they have managed |
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 geschafft | I had managed |
| du | hattest geschafft | you had managed |
| er/sie/es | hatte geschafft | he/she/it had managed |
| wir | hatten geschafft | we had managed |
| ihr | hattet geschafft | you (pl.) had managed |
| sie/Sie | hatten geschafft | they had managed |
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 schaffen | I will manage |
| du | wirst schaffen | you will manage |
| er/sie/es | wird schaffen | he/she/it will manage |
| wir | werden schaffen | we will manage |
| ihr | werdet schaffen | you (pl.) will manage |
| sie/Sie | werden schaffen | they will manage |
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 geschafft haben | I will have managed |
| du | wirst geschafft haben | you will have managed |
| er/sie/es | wird geschafft haben | he/she/it will have managed |
| wir | werden geschafft haben | we will have managed |
| ihr | werdet geschafft haben | you (pl.) will have managed |
| sie/Sie | werden geschafft haben | they will have managed |
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 | schaffte |
| du | schafftest |
| er/sie/es | schaffte |
| wir | schafften |
| ihr | schafftet |
| sie/Sie | schafften |
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 | schaffe |
| ihr | schafft |