wechseln — German conjugation
to change; to switch.
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 | wechsele | I change |
| du | wechselst | you change |
| er/sie/es | wechselt | he/she/it changes |
| wir | wechseln | we change |
| ihr | wechselt | you (pl.) change |
| sie/Sie | wechseln | they change |
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 | wechselte | I changed |
| du | wechseltest | you changed |
| er/sie/es | wechselte | he/she/it changed |
| wir | wechselten | we changed |
| ihr | wechseltet | you (pl.) changed |
| sie/Sie | wechselten | they changed |
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 gewechselt | I have changed |
| du | hast gewechselt | you have changed |
| er/sie/es | hat gewechselt | he/she/it has changed |
| wir | haben gewechselt | we have changed |
| ihr | habt gewechselt | you (pl.) have changed |
| sie/Sie | haben gewechselt | they have changed |
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 gewechselt | I had changed |
| du | hattest gewechselt | you had changed |
| er/sie/es | hatte gewechselt | he/she/it had changed |
| wir | hatten gewechselt | we had changed |
| ihr | hattet gewechselt | you (pl.) had changed |
| sie/Sie | hatten gewechselt | they had changed |
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 wechseln | I will change |
| du | wirst wechseln | you will change |
| er/sie/es | wird wechseln | he/she/it will change |
| wir | werden wechseln | we will change |
| ihr | werdet wechseln | you (pl.) will change |
| sie/Sie | werden wechseln | they will change |
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 gewechselt haben | I will have changed |
| du | wirst gewechselt haben | you will have changed |
| er/sie/es | wird gewechselt haben | he/she/it will have changed |
| wir | werden gewechselt haben | we will have changed |
| ihr | werdet gewechselt haben | you (pl.) will have changed |
| sie/Sie | werden gewechselt haben | they will have changed |
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 | wechselte |
| du | wechseltest |
| er/sie/es | wechselte |
| wir | wechselten |
| ihr | wechseltet |
| sie/Sie | wechselten |
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 | wechsele |
| ihr | wechselt |