steigen — German conjugation
to rise
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 | steige | I rise |
| du | steigst | you rise |
| er/sie/es | steigt | he/she/it rises |
| wir | steigen | we rise |
| ihr | steigt | you (pl.) rise |
| sie/Sie | steigen | they rise |
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 | stieg | I rose |
| du | stiegst | you rose |
| er/sie/es | stieg | he/she/it rose |
| wir | stiegen | we rose |
| ihr | stiegt | you (pl.) rose |
| sie/Sie | stiegen | they rose |
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 gestiegen | I have risen |
| du | bist gestiegen | you have risen |
| er/sie/es | ist gestiegen | he/she/it has risen |
| wir | sind gestiegen | we have risen |
| ihr | seid gestiegen | you (pl.) have risen |
| sie/Sie | sind gestiegen | they have risen |
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 gestiegen | I had risen |
| du | warst gestiegen | you had risen |
| er/sie/es | war gestiegen | he/she/it had risen |
| wir | waren gestiegen | we had risen |
| ihr | wart gestiegen | you (pl.) had risen |
| sie/Sie | waren gestiegen | they had risen |
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 steigen | I will rise |
| du | wirst steigen | you will rise |
| er/sie/es | wird steigen | he/she/it will rise |
| wir | werden steigen | we will rise |
| ihr | werdet steigen | you (pl.) will rise |
| sie/Sie | werden steigen | they will rise |
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 gestiegen sein | I will have risen |
| du | wirst gestiegen sein | you will have risen |
| er/sie/es | wird gestiegen sein | he/she/it will have risen |
| wir | werden gestiegen sein | we will have risen |
| ihr | werdet gestiegen sein | you (pl.) will have risen |
| sie/Sie | werden gestiegen sein | they will have risen |
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 | stiege |
| du | stiegest |
| er/sie/es | stiege |
| wir | stiegen |
| ihr | stieget |
| sie/Sie | stiegen |
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 | steige |
| ihr | steigt |