schmeicheln — German conjugation
to flatter
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 | schmeichele | I flatter |
| du | schmeichelst | you flatter |
| er/sie/es | schmeichelt | he/she/it flatters |
| wir | schmeicheln | we flatter |
| ihr | schmeichelt | you (pl.) flatter |
| sie/Sie | schmeicheln | they flatter |
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 | schmeichelte | I flattered |
| du | schmeicheltest | you flattered |
| er/sie/es | schmeichelte | he/she/it flattered |
| wir | schmeichelten | we flattered |
| ihr | schmeicheltet | you (pl.) flattered |
| sie/Sie | schmeichelten | they flattered |
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 geschmeichelt | I have flattered |
| du | hast geschmeichelt | you have flattered |
| er/sie/es | hat geschmeichelt | he/she/it has flattered |
| wir | haben geschmeichelt | we have flattered |
| ihr | habt geschmeichelt | you (pl.) have flattered |
| sie/Sie | haben geschmeichelt | they have flattered |
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 geschmeichelt | I had flattered |
| du | hattest geschmeichelt | you had flattered |
| er/sie/es | hatte geschmeichelt | he/she/it had flattered |
| wir | hatten geschmeichelt | we had flattered |
| ihr | hattet geschmeichelt | you (pl.) had flattered |
| sie/Sie | hatten geschmeichelt | they had flattered |
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 schmeicheln | I will flatter |
| du | wirst schmeicheln | you will flatter |
| er/sie/es | wird schmeicheln | he/she/it will flatter |
| wir | werden schmeicheln | we will flatter |
| ihr | werdet schmeicheln | you (pl.) will flatter |
| sie/Sie | werden schmeicheln | they will flatter |
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 geschmeichelt haben | I will have flattered |
| du | wirst geschmeichelt haben | you will have flattered |
| er/sie/es | wird geschmeichelt haben | he/she/it will have flattered |
| wir | werden geschmeichelt haben | we will have flattered |
| ihr | werdet geschmeichelt haben | you (pl.) will have flattered |
| sie/Sie | werden geschmeichelt haben | they will have flattered |
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 | schmeichelte |
| du | schmeicheltest |
| er/sie/es | schmeichelte |
| wir | schmeichelten |
| ihr | schmeicheltet |
| sie/Sie | schmeichelten |
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 | schmeichele |
| ihr | schmeichelt |