wahrnehmen — German conjugation
to perceive
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 | nehme wahr | I perceive |
| du | nimmst wahr | you perceive |
| er/sie/es | nimmt wahr | he/she/it perceives |
| wir | nehmen wahr | we perceive |
| ihr | nehmt wahr | you (pl.) perceive |
| sie/Sie | nehmen wahr | they perceive |
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 | nahm wahr | I perceived |
| du | nahmst wahr | you perceived |
| er/sie/es | nahm wahr | he/she/it perceived |
| wir | nahmen wahr | we perceived |
| ihr | nahmt wahr | you (pl.) perceived |
| sie/Sie | nahmen wahr | they perceived |
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 | habe wahrgenommen | I have perceived |
| du | hast wahrgenommen | you have perceived |
| er/sie/es | hat wahrgenommen | he/she/it has perceived |
| wir | haben wahrgenommen | we have perceived |
| ihr | habt wahrgenommen | you (pl.) have perceived |
| sie/Sie | haben wahrgenommen | they have perceived |
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 | hatte wahrgenommen | I had perceived |
| du | hattest wahrgenommen | you had perceived |
| er/sie/es | hatte wahrgenommen | he/she/it had perceived |
| wir | hatten wahrgenommen | we had perceived |
| ihr | hattet wahrgenommen | you (pl.) had perceived |
| sie/Sie | hatten wahrgenommen | they had perceived |
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 wahrnehmen | I will perceive |
| du | wirst wahrnehmen | you will perceive |
| er/sie/es | wird wahrnehmen | he/she/it will perceive |
| wir | werden wahrnehmen | we will perceive |
| ihr | werdet wahrnehmen | you (pl.) will perceive |
| sie/Sie | werden wahrnehmen | they will perceive |
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 wahrgenommen haben | I will have perceived |
| du | wirst wahrgenommen haben | you will have perceived |
| er/sie/es | wird wahrgenommen haben | he/she/it will have perceived |
| wir | werden wahrgenommen haben | we will have perceived |
| ihr | werdet wahrgenommen haben | you (pl.) will have perceived |
| sie/Sie | werden wahrgenommen haben | they will have perceived |
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 | nähme wahr |
| du | nähmest wahr |
| er/sie/es | nähme wahr |
| wir | nähmen wahr |
| ihr | nähmet wahr |
| sie/Sie | nähmen wahr |
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 | nimm wahr |
| ihr | nehmt wahr |