zergen — German conjugation
to wear away
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 | zerge | I wear away |
| du | zergst | you wear away |
| er/sie/es | zergt | he/she/it wears away |
| wir | zergen | we wear away |
| ihr | zergt | you (pl.) wear away |
| sie/Sie | zergen | they wear away |
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 | zergte | I wore away |
| du | zergtest | you wore away |
| er/sie/es | zergte | he/she/it wore away |
| wir | zergten | we wore away |
| ihr | zergtet | you (pl.) wore away |
| sie/Sie | zergten | they wore away |
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 gezergt | I have worn away |
| du | hast gezergt | you have worn away |
| er/sie/es | hat gezergt | he/she/it has worn away |
| wir | haben gezergt | we have worn away |
| ihr | habt gezergt | you (pl.) have worn away |
| sie/Sie | haben gezergt | they have worn away |
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 gezergt | I had worn away |
| du | hattest gezergt | you had worn away |
| er/sie/es | hatte gezergt | he/she/it had worn away |
| wir | hatten gezergt | we had worn away |
| ihr | hattet gezergt | you (pl.) had worn away |
| sie/Sie | hatten gezergt | they had worn away |
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 zergen | I will wear away |
| du | wirst zergen | you will wear away |
| er/sie/es | wird zergen | he/she/it will wear away |
| wir | werden zergen | we will wear away |
| ihr | werdet zergen | you (pl.) will wear away |
| sie/Sie | werden zergen | they will wear away |
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 gezergt haben | I will have worn away |
| du | wirst gezergt haben | you will have worn away |
| er/sie/es | wird gezergt haben | he/she/it will have worn away |
| wir | werden gezergt haben | we will have worn away |
| ihr | werdet gezergt haben | you (pl.) will have worn away |
| sie/Sie | werden gezergt haben | they will have worn away |
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 | zergte |
| du | zergtest |
| er/sie/es | zergte |
| wir | zergten |
| ihr | zergtet |
| sie/Sie | zergten |
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 | zerge |
| ihr | zergt |