stolpern — German conjugation
to stumble, to trip
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Regular
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 | stolpere | I stumble |
| du | stolperst | you stumble |
| er/sie/es | stolpert | he/she/it stumbles |
| wir | stolpern | we stumble |
| ihr | stolpert | you (pl.) stumble |
| sie/Sie | stolpern | they stumble |
Simple past (Präteritum) Regular
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 | stolperte | I stumbled |
| du | stolpertest | you stumbled |
| er/sie/es | stolperte | he/she/it stumbled |
| wir | stolperten | we stumbled |
| ihr | stolpertet | you (pl.) stumbled |
| sie/Sie | stolperten | they stumbled |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Regular
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 gestolpert | I have stumbled |
| du | bist gestolpert | you have stumbled |
| er/sie/es | ist gestolpert | he/she/it has stumbled |
| wir | sind gestolpert | we have stumbled |
| ihr | seid gestolpert | you (pl.) have stumbled |
| sie/Sie | sind gestolpert | they have stumbled |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Regular
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 gestolpert | I had stumbled |
| du | warst gestolpert | you had stumbled |
| er/sie/es | war gestolpert | he/she/it had stumbled |
| wir | waren gestolpert | we had stumbled |
| ihr | wart gestolpert | you (pl.) had stumbled |
| sie/Sie | waren gestolpert | they had stumbled |
Future I (Futur I) Regular
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 stolpern | I will stumble |
| du | wirst stolpern | you will stumble |
| er/sie/es | wird stolpern | he/she/it will stumble |
| wir | werden stolpern | we will stumble |
| ihr | werdet stolpern | you (pl.) will stumble |
| sie/Sie | werden stolpern | they will stumble |
Future II (Futur II) Regular
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 gestolpert sein | I will have stumbled |
| du | wirst gestolpert sein | you will have stumbled |
| er/sie/es | wird gestolpert sein | he/she/it will have stumbled |
| wir | werden gestolpert sein | we will have stumbled |
| ihr | werdet gestolpert sein | you (pl.) will have stumbled |
| sie/Sie | werden gestolpert sein | they will have stumbled |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Regular
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 | stolperte |
| du | stolpertest |
| er/sie/es | stolperte |
| wir | stolperten |
| ihr | stolpertet |
| sie/Sie | stolperten |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Regular
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 | stolpere |
| ihr | stolpert |