sinken — German conjugation
to sink; to submerge; to set; to fall from the sky
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 | sinke | I sink |
| du | sinkst | you sink |
| er/sie/es | sinkt | he/she/it sinks |
| wir | sinken | we sink |
| ihr | sinkt | you (pl.) sink |
| sie/Sie | sinken | they sink |
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 | sank | I sank |
| du | sankst | you sank |
| er/sie/es | sank | he/she/it sank |
| wir | sanken | we sank |
| ihr | sankt | you (pl.) sank |
| sie/Sie | sanken | they sank |
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 gesunken | I have sunk |
| du | bist gesunken | you have sunk |
| er/sie/es | ist gesunken | he/she/it has sunk |
| wir | sind gesunken | we have sunk |
| ihr | seid gesunken | you (pl.) have sunk |
| sie/Sie | sind gesunken | they have sunk |
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 gesunken | I had sunk |
| du | warst gesunken | you had sunk |
| er/sie/es | war gesunken | he/she/it had sunk |
| wir | waren gesunken | we had sunk |
| ihr | wart gesunken | you (pl.) had sunk |
| sie/Sie | waren gesunken | they had sunk |
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 sinken | I will sink |
| du | wirst sinken | you will sink |
| er/sie/es | wird sinken | he/she/it will sink |
| wir | werden sinken | we will sink |
| ihr | werdet sinken | you (pl.) will sink |
| sie/Sie | werden sinken | they will sink |
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 gesunken sein | I will have sunk |
| du | wirst gesunken sein | you will have sunk |
| er/sie/es | wird gesunken sein | he/she/it will have sunk |
| wir | werden gesunken sein | we will have sunk |
| ihr | werdet gesunken sein | you (pl.) will have sunk |
| sie/Sie | werden gesunken sein | they will have sunk |
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 | sänke |
| du | sänkest |
| er/sie/es | sänke |
| wir | sänken |
| ihr | sänket |
| sie/Sie | sänken |
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 | sinke |
| ihr | sinkt |