sein — German conjugation
to be
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 | bin | I am |
| du | bist | you are |
| er/sie/es | ist | he/she/it is |
| wir | sind | we are |
| ihr | seid | you (pl.) are |
| sie/Sie | sind | they are |
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 | war | I was |
| du | warst | you were |
| er/sie/es | war | he/she/it was |
| wir | waren | we were |
| ihr | wart | you (pl.) were |
| sie/Sie | waren | they were |
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 gewesen | I have been |
| du | bist gewesen | you have been |
| er/sie/es | ist gewesen | he/she/it has been |
| wir | sind gewesen | we have been |
| ihr | seid gewesen | you (pl.) have been |
| sie/Sie | sind gewesen | they have been |
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 gewesen | I had been |
| du | warst gewesen | you had been |
| er/sie/es | war gewesen | he/she/it had been |
| wir | waren gewesen | we had been |
| ihr | wart gewesen | you (pl.) had been |
| sie/Sie | waren gewesen | they had been |
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 sein | I will be |
| du | wirst sein | you will be |
| er/sie/es | wird sein | he/she/it will be |
| wir | werden sein | we will be |
| ihr | werdet sein | you (pl.) will be |
| sie/Sie | werden sein | they will be |
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 gewesen sein | I will have been |
| du | wirst gewesen sein | you will have been |
| er/sie/es | wird gewesen sein | he/she/it will have been |
| wir | werden gewesen sein | we will have been |
| ihr | werdet gewesen sein | you (pl.) will have been |
| sie/Sie | werden gewesen sein | they will have been |
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 | wäre |
| du | wärest |
| er/sie/es | wäre |
| wir | wären |
| ihr | wäret |
| sie/Sie | wären |
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 | sei |
| ihr | seit |