schlüpfen — German conjugation
to slip (move quickly)
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 | schlüpfe | I slip |
| du | schlüpfst | you slip |
| er/sie/es | schlüpft | he/she/it slips |
| wir | schlüpfen | we slip |
| ihr | schlüpft | you (pl.) slip |
| sie/Sie | schlüpfen | they slip |
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 | schlüpfte | I slipped |
| du | schlüpftest | you slipped |
| er/sie/es | schlüpfte | he/she/it slipped |
| wir | schlüpften | we slipped |
| ihr | schlüpftet | you (pl.) slipped |
| sie/Sie | schlüpften | they slipped |
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 geschlüpft | I have slipped |
| du | bist geschlüpft | you have slipped |
| er/sie/es | ist geschlüpft | he/she/it has slipped |
| wir | sind geschlüpft | we have slipped |
| ihr | seid geschlüpft | you (pl.) have slipped |
| sie/Sie | sind geschlüpft | they have slipped |
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 geschlüpft | I had slipped |
| du | warst geschlüpft | you had slipped |
| er/sie/es | war geschlüpft | he/she/it had slipped |
| wir | waren geschlüpft | we had slipped |
| ihr | wart geschlüpft | you (pl.) had slipped |
| sie/Sie | waren geschlüpft | they had slipped |
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 schlüpfen | I will slip |
| du | wirst schlüpfen | you will slip |
| er/sie/es | wird schlüpfen | he/she/it will slip |
| wir | werden schlüpfen | we will slip |
| ihr | werdet schlüpfen | you (pl.) will slip |
| sie/Sie | werden schlüpfen | they will slip |
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 geschlüpft sein | I will have slipped |
| du | wirst geschlüpft sein | you will have slipped |
| er/sie/es | wird geschlüpft sein | he/she/it will have slipped |
| wir | werden geschlüpft sein | we will have slipped |
| ihr | werdet geschlüpft sein | you (pl.) will have slipped |
| sie/Sie | werden geschlüpft sein | they will have slipped |
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 | schlüpfte |
| du | schlüpftest |
| er/sie/es | schlüpfte |
| wir | schlüpften |
| ihr | schlüpftet |
| sie/Sie | schlüpften |
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 | schlüpfe |
| ihr | schlüpft |