versagen — German conjugation
to fail, to give out, to break down
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 | versage | I fail |
| du | versagst | you fail |
| er/sie/es | versagt | he/she/it fails |
| wir | versagen | we fail |
| ihr | versagt | you (pl.) fail |
| sie/Sie | versagen | they fail |
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 | versagte | I failed |
| du | versagtest | you failed |
| er/sie/es | versagte | he/she/it failed |
| wir | versagten | we failed |
| ihr | versagtet | you (pl.) failed |
| sie/Sie | versagten | they failed |
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 | habe versagt | I have failed |
| du | hast versagt | you have failed |
| er/sie/es | hat versagt | he/she/it has failed |
| wir | haben versagt | we have failed |
| ihr | habt versagt | you (pl.) have failed |
| sie/Sie | haben versagt | they have failed |
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 | hatte versagt | I had failed |
| du | hattest versagt | you had failed |
| er/sie/es | hatte versagt | he/she/it had failed |
| wir | hatten versagt | we had failed |
| ihr | hattet versagt | you (pl.) had failed |
| sie/Sie | hatten versagt | they had failed |
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 versagen | I will fail |
| du | wirst versagen | you will fail |
| er/sie/es | wird versagen | he/she/it will fail |
| wir | werden versagen | we will fail |
| ihr | werdet versagen | you (pl.) will fail |
| sie/Sie | werden versagen | they will fail |
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 versagt haben | I will have failed |
| du | wirst versagt haben | you will have failed |
| er/sie/es | wird versagt haben | he/she/it will have failed |
| wir | werden versagt haben | we will have failed |
| ihr | werdet versagt haben | you (pl.) will have failed |
| sie/Sie | werden versagt haben | they will have failed |
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 | versagte |
| du | versagtest |
| er/sie/es | versagte |
| wir | versagten |
| ihr | versagtet |
| sie/Sie | versagten |
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 | versage |
| ihr | versagt |