schwinden — German conjugation
to fade
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 | schwinde | I fade |
| du | schwindest | you fade |
| er/sie/es | schwindet | he/she/it fades |
| wir | schwinden | we fade |
| ihr | schwindet | you (pl.) fade |
| sie/Sie | schwinden | they fade |
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 | schwand | I faded |
| du | schwandest | you faded |
| er/sie/es | schwand | he/she/it faded |
| wir | schwanden | we faded |
| ihr | schwandet | you (pl.) faded |
| sie/Sie | schwanden | they faded |
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 geschwunden | I have faded |
| du | bist geschwunden | you have faded |
| er/sie/es | ist geschwunden | he/she/it has faded |
| wir | sind geschwunden | we have faded |
| ihr | seid geschwunden | you (pl.) have faded |
| sie/Sie | sind geschwunden | they have faded |
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 geschwunden | I had faded |
| du | warst geschwunden | you had faded |
| er/sie/es | war geschwunden | he/she/it had faded |
| wir | waren geschwunden | we had faded |
| ihr | wart geschwunden | you (pl.) had faded |
| sie/Sie | waren geschwunden | they had faded |
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 schwinden | I will fade |
| du | wirst schwinden | you will fade |
| er/sie/es | wird schwinden | he/she/it will fade |
| wir | werden schwinden | we will fade |
| ihr | werdet schwinden | you (pl.) will fade |
| sie/Sie | werden schwinden | they will fade |
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 geschwunden sein | I will have faded |
| du | wirst geschwunden sein | you will have faded |
| er/sie/es | wird geschwunden sein | he/she/it will have faded |
| wir | werden geschwunden sein | we will have faded |
| ihr | werdet geschwunden sein | you (pl.) will have faded |
| sie/Sie | werden geschwunden sein | they will have faded |
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 | schwände |
| du | schwändest |
| er/sie/es | schwände |
| wir | schwänden |
| ihr | schwändet |
| sie/Sie | schwänden |
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 | schwinde |
| ihr | schwindet |