spalten — German conjugation
to split (something); to cleave; to chop
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 | spalte | I split |
| du | spaltest | you split |
| er/sie/es | spaltet | he/she/it splits |
| wir | spalten | we split |
| ihr | spaltet | you (pl.) split |
| sie/Sie | spalten | they split |
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 | spaltete | I split |
| du | spaltetest | you split |
| er/sie/es | spaltete | he/she/it split |
| wir | spalteten | we split |
| ihr | spaltetet | you (pl.) split |
| sie/Sie | spalteten | they split |
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 | habe gespalten | I have split |
| du | hast gespalten | you have split |
| er/sie/es | hat gespalten | he/she/it has split |
| wir | haben gespalten | we have split |
| ihr | habt gespalten | you (pl.) have split |
| sie/Sie | haben gespalten | they have split |
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 | hatte gespalten | I had split |
| du | hattest gespalten | you had split |
| er/sie/es | hatte gespalten | he/she/it had split |
| wir | hatten gespalten | we had split |
| ihr | hattet gespalten | you (pl.) had split |
| sie/Sie | hatten gespalten | they had split |
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 spalten | I will split |
| du | wirst spalten | you will split |
| er/sie/es | wird spalten | he/she/it will split |
| wir | werden spalten | we will split |
| ihr | werdet spalten | you (pl.) will split |
| sie/Sie | werden spalten | they will split |
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 gespalten haben | I will have split |
| du | wirst gespalten haben | you will have split |
| er/sie/es | wird gespalten haben | he/she/it will have split |
| wir | werden gespalten haben | we will have split |
| ihr | werdet gespalten haben | you (pl.) will have split |
| sie/Sie | werden gespalten haben | they will have split |
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 | spaltete |
| du | spaltetest |
| er/sie/es | spaltete |
| wir | spalteten |
| ihr | spaltetet |
| sie/Sie | spalteten |
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 | spalte |
| ihr | spaltet |