weilen — German conjugation
to be present, to linger
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 | weile | I am present |
| du | weilst | you are present |
| er/sie/es | weilt | he/she/it is present |
| wir | weilen | we are present |
| ihr | weilt | you (pl.) are present |
| sie/Sie | weilen | they are present |
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 | weilte | I was present |
| du | weiltest | you were present |
| er/sie/es | weilte | he/she/it was present |
| wir | weilten | we were present |
| ihr | weiltet | you (pl.) were present |
| sie/Sie | weilten | they were present |
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 geweilt | I have been present |
| du | hast geweilt | you have been present |
| er/sie/es | hat geweilt | he/she/it has been present |
| wir | haben geweilt | we have been present |
| ihr | habt geweilt | you (pl.) have been present |
| sie/Sie | haben geweilt | they have been present |
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 geweilt | I had been present |
| du | hattest geweilt | you had been present |
| er/sie/es | hatte geweilt | he/she/it had been present |
| wir | hatten geweilt | we had been present |
| ihr | hattet geweilt | you (pl.) had been present |
| sie/Sie | hatten geweilt | they had been present |
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 weilen | I will be present |
| du | wirst weilen | you will be present |
| er/sie/es | wird weilen | he/she/it will be present |
| wir | werden weilen | we will be present |
| ihr | werdet weilen | you (pl.) will be present |
| sie/Sie | werden weilen | they will be present |
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 geweilt haben | I will have been present |
| du | wirst geweilt haben | you will have been present |
| er/sie/es | wird geweilt haben | he/she/it will have been present |
| wir | werden geweilt haben | we will have been present |
| ihr | werdet geweilt haben | you (pl.) will have been present |
| sie/Sie | werden geweilt haben | they will have been present |
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 | weilte |
| du | weiltest |
| er/sie/es | weilte |
| wir | weilten |
| ihr | weiltet |
| sie/Sie | weilten |
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 | weile |
| ihr | weilt |