schwimmen — German conjugation
to swim
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 | schwimme | I swim |
| du | schwimmst | you swim |
| er/sie/es | schwimmt | he/she/it swims |
| wir | schwimmen | we swim |
| ihr | schwimmt | you (pl.) swim |
| sie/Sie | schwimmen | they swim |
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 | schwamm | I swam |
| du | schwammst | you swam |
| er/sie/es | schwamm | he/she/it swam |
| wir | schwammen | we swam |
| ihr | schwammt | you (pl.) swam |
| sie/Sie | schwammen | they swam |
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 | bin geschwommen | I have swum |
| du | bist geschwommen | you have swum |
| er/sie/es | ist geschwommen | he/she/it has swum |
| wir | sind geschwommen | we have swum |
| ihr | seid geschwommen | you (pl.) have swum |
| sie/Sie | sind geschwommen | they have swum |
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 | war geschwommen | I had swum |
| du | warst geschwommen | you had swum |
| er/sie/es | war geschwommen | he/she/it had swum |
| wir | waren geschwommen | we had swum |
| ihr | wart geschwommen | you (pl.) had swum |
| sie/Sie | waren geschwommen | they had swum |
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 schwimmen | I will swim |
| du | wirst schwimmen | you will swim |
| er/sie/es | wird schwimmen | he/she/it will swim |
| wir | werden schwimmen | we will swim |
| ihr | werdet schwimmen | you (pl.) will swim |
| sie/Sie | werden schwimmen | they will swim |
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 geschwommen sein | I will have swum |
| du | wirst geschwommen sein | you will have swum |
| er/sie/es | wird geschwommen sein | he/she/it will have swum |
| wir | werden geschwommen sein | we will have swum |
| ihr | werdet geschwommen sein | you (pl.) will have swum |
| sie/Sie | werden geschwommen sein | they will have swum |
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 | schwämme |
| du | schwämmest |
| er/sie/es | schwämme |
| wir | schwämmen |
| ihr | schwämmet |
| sie/Sie | schwämmen |
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 | schwimme |
| ihr | schwimmt |