zerbrechen — German conjugation
to break (into pieces)
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 | zerbreche | I break |
| du | zerbrichst | you break |
| er/sie/es | zerbricht | he/she/it breaks |
| wir | zerbrechen | we break |
| ihr | zerbrecht | you (pl.) break |
| sie/Sie | zerbrechen | they break |
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 | zerbrach | I broke |
| du | zerbrachst | you broke |
| er/sie/es | zerbrach | he/she/it broke |
| wir | zerbrachen | we broke |
| ihr | zerbracht | you (pl.) broke |
| sie/Sie | zerbrachen | they broke |
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 zerbrochen | I have broken |
| du | hast zerbrochen | you have broken |
| er/sie/es | hat zerbrochen | he/she/it has broken |
| wir | haben zerbrochen | we have broken |
| ihr | habt zerbrochen | you (pl.) have broken |
| sie/Sie | haben zerbrochen | they have broken |
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 zerbrochen | I had broken |
| du | hattest zerbrochen | you had broken |
| er/sie/es | hatte zerbrochen | he/she/it had broken |
| wir | hatten zerbrochen | we had broken |
| ihr | hattet zerbrochen | you (pl.) had broken |
| sie/Sie | hatten zerbrochen | they had broken |
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 zerbrechen | I will break |
| du | wirst zerbrechen | you will break |
| er/sie/es | wird zerbrechen | he/she/it will break |
| wir | werden zerbrechen | we will break |
| ihr | werdet zerbrechen | you (pl.) will break |
| sie/Sie | werden zerbrechen | they will break |
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 zerbrochen haben | I will have broken |
| du | wirst zerbrochen haben | you will have broken |
| er/sie/es | wird zerbrochen haben | he/she/it will have broken |
| wir | werden zerbrochen haben | we will have broken |
| ihr | werdet zerbrochen haben | you (pl.) will have broken |
| sie/Sie | werden zerbrochen haben | they will have broken |
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 | zerbräche |
| du | zerbrächest |
| er/sie/es | zerbräche |
| wir | zerbrächen |
| ihr | zerbrächet |
| sie/Sie | zerbrächen |
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 | zerbrich |
| ihr | zerbrecht |