zwingen — German conjugation
to force; to compel; to make (someone do something)
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 | zwinge | I force |
| du | zwingst | you force |
| er/sie/es | zwingt | he/she/it forces |
| wir | zwingen | we force |
| ihr | zwingt | you (pl.) force |
| sie/Sie | zwingen | they force |
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 | zwang | I forced |
| du | zwangst | you forced |
| er/sie/es | zwang | he/she/it forced |
| wir | zwangen | we forced |
| ihr | zwangt | you (pl.) forced |
| sie/Sie | zwangen | they forced |
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 gezwungen | I have forced |
| du | hast gezwungen | you have forced |
| er/sie/es | hat gezwungen | he/she/it has forced |
| wir | haben gezwungen | we have forced |
| ihr | habt gezwungen | you (pl.) have forced |
| sie/Sie | haben gezwungen | they have forced |
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 gezwungen | I had forced |
| du | hattest gezwungen | you had forced |
| er/sie/es | hatte gezwungen | he/she/it had forced |
| wir | hatten gezwungen | we had forced |
| ihr | hattet gezwungen | you (pl.) had forced |
| sie/Sie | hatten gezwungen | they had forced |
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 zwingen | I will force |
| du | wirst zwingen | you will force |
| er/sie/es | wird zwingen | he/she/it will force |
| wir | werden zwingen | we will force |
| ihr | werdet zwingen | you (pl.) will force |
| sie/Sie | werden zwingen | they will force |
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 gezwungen haben | I will have forced |
| du | wirst gezwungen haben | you will have forced |
| er/sie/es | wird gezwungen haben | he/she/it will have forced |
| wir | werden gezwungen haben | we will have forced |
| ihr | werdet gezwungen haben | you (pl.) will have forced |
| sie/Sie | werden gezwungen haben | they will have forced |
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 | zwänge |
| du | zwängest |
| er/sie/es | zwänge |
| wir | zwängen |
| ihr | zwänget |
| sie/Sie | zwängen |
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 | zwinge |
| ihr | zwingt |