wittern — German conjugation
to scent (to detect the scent of)
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 | wittere | I scent |
| du | witterst | you scent |
| er/sie/es | wittert | he/she/it scents |
| wir | wittern | we scent |
| ihr | wittert | you (pl.) scent |
| sie/Sie | wittern | they scent |
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 | witterte | I scented |
| du | wittertest | you scented |
| er/sie/es | witterte | he/she/it scented |
| wir | witterten | we scented |
| ihr | wittertet | you (pl.) scented |
| sie/Sie | witterten | they scented |
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 gewittert | I have scented |
| du | hast gewittert | you have scented |
| er/sie/es | hat gewittert | he/she/it has scented |
| wir | haben gewittert | we have scented |
| ihr | habt gewittert | you (pl.) have scented |
| sie/Sie | haben gewittert | they have scented |
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 gewittert | I had scented |
| du | hattest gewittert | you had scented |
| er/sie/es | hatte gewittert | he/she/it had scented |
| wir | hatten gewittert | we had scented |
| ihr | hattet gewittert | you (pl.) had scented |
| sie/Sie | hatten gewittert | they had scented |
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 wittern | I will scent |
| du | wirst wittern | you will scent |
| er/sie/es | wird wittern | he/she/it will scent |
| wir | werden wittern | we will scent |
| ihr | werdet wittern | you (pl.) will scent |
| sie/Sie | werden wittern | they will scent |
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 gewittert haben | I will have scented |
| du | wirst gewittert haben | you will have scented |
| er/sie/es | wird gewittert haben | he/she/it will have scented |
| wir | werden gewittert haben | we will have scented |
| ihr | werdet gewittert haben | you (pl.) will have scented |
| sie/Sie | werden gewittert haben | they will have scented |
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 | witterte |
| du | wittertest |
| er/sie/es | witterte |
| wir | witterten |
| ihr | wittertet |
| sie/Sie | witterten |
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 | wittere |
| ihr | wittert |