werden — German conjugation
to become (auxiliary for future, passive)
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 | werde | I become |
| du | wirst | you become |
| er/sie/es | wird | he/she/it becomes |
| wir | werden | we become |
| ihr | werdet | you (pl.) become |
| sie/Sie | werden | they become |
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 | wurde | I became |
| du | wurdest | you became |
| er/sie/es | wurde | he/she/it became |
| wir | wurden | we became |
| ihr | wurdet | you (pl.) became |
| sie/Sie | wurden | they became |
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 geworden | I have become |
| du | bist geworden | you have become |
| er/sie/es | ist geworden | he/she/it has become |
| wir | sind geworden | we have become |
| ihr | seid geworden | you (pl.) have become |
| sie/Sie | sind geworden | they have become |
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 geworden | I had become |
| du | warst geworden | you had become |
| er/sie/es | war geworden | he/she/it had become |
| wir | waren geworden | we had become |
| ihr | wart geworden | you (pl.) had become |
| sie/Sie | waren geworden | they had become |
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 werden | I will become |
| du | wirst werden | you will become |
| er/sie/es | wird werden | he/she/it will become |
| wir | werden werden | we will become |
| ihr | werdet werden | you (pl.) will become |
| sie/Sie | werden werden | they will become |
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 geworden sein | I will have become |
| du | wirst geworden sein | you will have become |
| er/sie/es | wird geworden sein | he/she/it will have become |
| wir | werden geworden sein | we will have become |
| ihr | werdet geworden sein | you (pl.) will have become |
| sie/Sie | werden geworden sein | they will have become |
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 | würde |
| du | würdest |
| er/sie/es | würde |
| wir | würden |
| ihr | würdet |
| sie/Sie | würden |
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 | werde |
| ihr | werdet |