schnüffeln — German conjugation
to sniff
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 | schnüffele | I sniff |
| du | schnüffelst | you sniff |
| er/sie/es | schnüffelt | he/she/it sniffs |
| wir | schnüffeln | we sniff |
| ihr | schnüffelt | you (pl.) sniff |
| sie/Sie | schnüffeln | they sniff |
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 | schnüffelte | I sniffed |
| du | schnüffeltest | you sniffed |
| er/sie/es | schnüffelte | he/she/it sniffed |
| wir | schnüffelten | we sniffed |
| ihr | schnüffeltet | you (pl.) sniffed |
| sie/Sie | schnüffelten | they sniffed |
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 geschnüffelt | I have sniffed |
| du | hast geschnüffelt | you have sniffed |
| er/sie/es | hat geschnüffelt | he/she/it has sniffed |
| wir | haben geschnüffelt | we have sniffed |
| ihr | habt geschnüffelt | you (pl.) have sniffed |
| sie/Sie | haben geschnüffelt | they have sniffed |
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 geschnüffelt | I had sniffed |
| du | hattest geschnüffelt | you had sniffed |
| er/sie/es | hatte geschnüffelt | he/she/it had sniffed |
| wir | hatten geschnüffelt | we had sniffed |
| ihr | hattet geschnüffelt | you (pl.) had sniffed |
| sie/Sie | hatten geschnüffelt | they had sniffed |
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 schnüffeln | I will sniff |
| du | wirst schnüffeln | you will sniff |
| er/sie/es | wird schnüffeln | he/she/it will sniff |
| wir | werden schnüffeln | we will sniff |
| ihr | werdet schnüffeln | you (pl.) will sniff |
| sie/Sie | werden schnüffeln | they will sniff |
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 geschnüffelt haben | I will have sniffed |
| du | wirst geschnüffelt haben | you will have sniffed |
| er/sie/es | wird geschnüffelt haben | he/she/it will have sniffed |
| wir | werden geschnüffelt haben | we will have sniffed |
| ihr | werdet geschnüffelt haben | you (pl.) will have sniffed |
| sie/Sie | werden geschnüffelt haben | they will have sniffed |
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 | schnüffelte |
| du | schnüffeltest |
| er/sie/es | schnüffelte |
| wir | schnüffelten |
| ihr | schnüffeltet |
| sie/Sie | schnüffelten |
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 | schnüffele |
| ihr | schnüffelt |