sprechen — German conjugation
to speak
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 | spreche | I speak |
| du | sprichst | you speak |
| er/sie/es | spricht | he/she/it speaks |
| wir | sprechen | we speak |
| ihr | sprecht | you (pl.) speak |
| sie/Sie | sprechen | they speak |
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 | sprach | I spoke |
| du | sprachst | you spoke |
| er/sie/es | sprach | he/she/it spoke |
| wir | sprachen | we spoke |
| ihr | spracht | you (pl.) spoke |
| sie/Sie | sprachen | they spoke |
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 gesprochen | I have spoken |
| du | hast gesprochen | you have spoken |
| er/sie/es | hat gesprochen | he/she/it has spoken |
| wir | haben gesprochen | we have spoken |
| ihr | habt gesprochen | you (pl.) have spoken |
| sie/Sie | haben gesprochen | they have spoken |
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 gesprochen | I had spoken |
| du | hattest gesprochen | you had spoken |
| er/sie/es | hatte gesprochen | he/she/it had spoken |
| wir | hatten gesprochen | we had spoken |
| ihr | hattet gesprochen | you (pl.) had spoken |
| sie/Sie | hatten gesprochen | they had spoken |
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 sprechen | I will speak |
| du | wirst sprechen | you will speak |
| er/sie/es | wird sprechen | he/she/it will speak |
| wir | werden sprechen | we will speak |
| ihr | werdet sprechen | you (pl.) will speak |
| sie/Sie | werden sprechen | they will speak |
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 gesprochen haben | I will have spoken |
| du | wirst gesprochen haben | you will have spoken |
| er/sie/es | wird gesprochen haben | he/she/it will have spoken |
| wir | werden gesprochen haben | we will have spoken |
| ihr | werdet gesprochen haben | you (pl.) will have spoken |
| sie/Sie | werden gesprochen haben | they will have spoken |
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 | spräche |
| du | sprächest |
| er/sie/es | spräche |
| wir | sprächen |
| ihr | sprächet |
| sie/Sie | sprächen |
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 | sprich |
| ihr | sprecht |