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