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