wachsen — German conjugation
to grow
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 | wachse | I grow |
| du | wächst | you grow |
| er/sie/es | wächst | he/she/it grows |
| wir | wachsen | we grow |
| ihr | wachst | you (pl.) grow |
| sie/Sie | wachsen | they grow |
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 | wuchs | I grew |
| du | wuchsest | you grew |
| er/sie/es | wuchs | he/she/it grew |
| wir | wuchsen | we grew |
| ihr | wuchst | you (pl.) grew |
| sie/Sie | wuchsen | they grew |
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 gewachsen | I have grown |
| du | bist gewachsen | you have grown |
| er/sie/es | ist gewachsen | he/she/it has grown |
| wir | sind gewachsen | we have grown |
| ihr | seid gewachsen | you (pl.) have grown |
| sie/Sie | sind gewachsen | they have grown |
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 gewachsen | I had grown |
| du | warst gewachsen | you had grown |
| er/sie/es | war gewachsen | he/she/it had grown |
| wir | waren gewachsen | we had grown |
| ihr | wart gewachsen | you (pl.) had grown |
| sie/Sie | waren gewachsen | they had grown |
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 wachsen | I will grow |
| du | wirst wachsen | you will grow |
| er/sie/es | wird wachsen | he/she/it will grow |
| wir | werden wachsen | we will grow |
| ihr | werdet wachsen | you (pl.) will grow |
| sie/Sie | werden wachsen | they will grow |
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 gewachsen sein | I will have grown |
| du | wirst gewachsen sein | you will have grown |
| er/sie/es | wird gewachsen sein | he/she/it will have grown |
| wir | werden gewachsen sein | we will have grown |
| ihr | werdet gewachsen sein | you (pl.) will have grown |
| sie/Sie | werden gewachsen sein | they will have grown |
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 | wüchse |
| du | wüchsest |
| er/sie/es | wüchse |
| wir | wüchsen |
| ihr | wüchset |
| sie/Sie | wüchsen |
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 | wachse |
| ihr | wachst |