winken — German conjugation
to wave
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 | winke | I wave |
| du | winkst | you wave |
| er/sie/es | winkt | he/she/it waves |
| wir | winken | we wave |
| ihr | winkt | you (pl.) wave |
| sie/Sie | winken | they wave |
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 | winkte | I waved |
| du | winktest | you waved |
| er/sie/es | winkte | he/she/it waved |
| wir | winkten | we waved |
| ihr | winktet | you (pl.) waved |
| sie/Sie | winkten | they waved |
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 gewunken | I have waved |
| du | hast gewunken | you have waved |
| er/sie/es | hat gewunken | he/she/it has waved |
| wir | haben gewunken | we have waved |
| ihr | habt gewunken | you (pl.) have waved |
| sie/Sie | haben gewunken | they have waved |
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 gewunken | I had waved |
| du | hattest gewunken | you had waved |
| er/sie/es | hatte gewunken | he/she/it had waved |
| wir | hatten gewunken | we had waved |
| ihr | hattet gewunken | you (pl.) had waved |
| sie/Sie | hatten gewunken | they had waved |
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 winken | I will wave |
| du | wirst winken | you will wave |
| er/sie/es | wird winken | he/she/it will wave |
| wir | werden winken | we will wave |
| ihr | werdet winken | you (pl.) will wave |
| sie/Sie | werden winken | they will wave |
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 gewunken haben | I will have waved |
| du | wirst gewunken haben | you will have waved |
| er/sie/es | wird gewunken haben | he/she/it will have waved |
| wir | werden gewunken haben | we will have waved |
| ihr | werdet gewunken haben | you (pl.) will have waved |
| sie/Sie | werden gewunken haben | they will have waved |
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 | winkte |
| du | winktest |
| er/sie/es | winkte |
| wir | winkten |
| ihr | winktet |
| sie/Sie | winkten |
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 | winke |
| ihr | winkt |