verfaulen — German conjugation
to rot
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 | verfaule | I rot |
| du | verfaulst | you rot |
| er/sie/es | verfault | he/she/it rots |
| wir | verfaulen | we rot |
| ihr | verfault | you (pl.) rot |
| sie/Sie | verfaulen | they rot |
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 | verfaulte | I rotted |
| du | verfaultest | you rotted |
| er/sie/es | verfaulte | he/she/it rotted |
| wir | verfaulten | we rotted |
| ihr | verfaultet | you (pl.) rotted |
| sie/Sie | verfaulten | they rotted |
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 verfault | I have rotted |
| du | bist verfault | you have rotted |
| er/sie/es | ist verfault | he/she/it has rotted |
| wir | sind verfault | we have rotted |
| ihr | seid verfault | you (pl.) have rotted |
| sie/Sie | sind verfault | they have rotted |
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 verfault | I had rotted |
| du | warst verfault | you had rotted |
| er/sie/es | war verfault | he/she/it had rotted |
| wir | waren verfault | we had rotted |
| ihr | wart verfault | you (pl.) had rotted |
| sie/Sie | waren verfault | they had rotted |
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 verfaulen | I will rot |
| du | wirst verfaulen | you will rot |
| er/sie/es | wird verfaulen | he/she/it will rot |
| wir | werden verfaulen | we will rot |
| ihr | werdet verfaulen | you (pl.) will rot |
| sie/Sie | werden verfaulen | they will rot |
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 verfault sein | I will have rotted |
| du | wirst verfault sein | you will have rotted |
| er/sie/es | wird verfault sein | he/she/it will have rotted |
| wir | werden verfault sein | we will have rotted |
| ihr | werdet verfault sein | you (pl.) will have rotted |
| sie/Sie | werden verfault sein | they will have rotted |
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 | verfaulte |
| du | verfaultest |
| er/sie/es | verfaulte |
| wir | verfaulten |
| ihr | verfaultet |
| sie/Sie | verfaulten |
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 | verfaule |
| ihr | verfault |