schlafen — German conjugation
to sleep
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
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 | schlafe | I sleep |
| du | schläfst | you sleep |
| er/sie/es | schläft | he/she/it sleeps |
| wir | schlafen | we sleep |
| ihr | schlaft | you (pl.) sleep |
| sie/Sie | schlafen | they sleep |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
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 | schlief | I slept |
| du | schliefst | you slept |
| er/sie/es | schlief | he/she/it slept |
| wir | schliefen | we slept |
| ihr | schlieft | you (pl.) slept |
| sie/Sie | schliefen | they slept |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
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 geschlafen | I have slept |
| du | hast geschlafen | you have slept |
| er/sie/es | hat geschlafen | he/she/it has slept |
| wir | haben geschlafen | we have slept |
| ihr | habt geschlafen | you (pl.) have slept |
| sie/Sie | haben geschlafen | they have slept |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
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 geschlafen | I had slept |
| du | hattest geschlafen | you had slept |
| er/sie/es | hatte geschlafen | he/she/it had slept |
| wir | hatten geschlafen | we had slept |
| ihr | hattet geschlafen | you (pl.) had slept |
| sie/Sie | hatten geschlafen | they had slept |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
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 schlafen | I will sleep |
| du | wirst schlafen | you will sleep |
| er/sie/es | wird schlafen | he/she/it will sleep |
| wir | werden schlafen | we will sleep |
| ihr | werdet schlafen | you (pl.) will sleep |
| sie/Sie | werden schlafen | they will sleep |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
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 geschlafen haben | I will have slept |
| du | wirst geschlafen haben | you will have slept |
| er/sie/es | wird geschlafen haben | he/she/it will have slept |
| wir | werden geschlafen haben | we will have slept |
| ihr | werdet geschlafen haben | you (pl.) will have slept |
| sie/Sie | werden geschlafen haben | they will have slept |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
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 | schliefe |
| du | schliefest |
| er/sie/es | schliefe |
| wir | schliefen |
| ihr | schliefet |
| sie/Sie | schliefen |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
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 | schlafe |
| ihr | schlaft |