zwirnen — German conjugation
to twist
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 | zwirne | I twist |
| du | zwirnst | you twist |
| er/sie/es | zwirnt | he/she/it twists |
| wir | zwirnen | we twist |
| ihr | zwirnt | you (pl.) twist |
| sie/Sie | zwirnen | they twist |
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 | zwirnte | I twisted |
| du | zwirntest | you twisted |
| er/sie/es | zwirnte | he/she/it twisted |
| wir | zwirnten | we twisted |
| ihr | zwirntet | you (pl.) twisted |
| sie/Sie | zwirnten | they twisted |
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 gezwirnt | I have twisted |
| du | hast gezwirnt | you have twisted |
| er/sie/es | hat gezwirnt | he/she/it has twisted |
| wir | haben gezwirnt | we have twisted |
| ihr | habt gezwirnt | you (pl.) have twisted |
| sie/Sie | haben gezwirnt | they have twisted |
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 gezwirnt | I had twisted |
| du | hattest gezwirnt | you had twisted |
| er/sie/es | hatte gezwirnt | he/she/it had twisted |
| wir | hatten gezwirnt | we had twisted |
| ihr | hattet gezwirnt | you (pl.) had twisted |
| sie/Sie | hatten gezwirnt | they had twisted |
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 zwirnen | I will twist |
| du | wirst zwirnen | you will twist |
| er/sie/es | wird zwirnen | he/she/it will twist |
| wir | werden zwirnen | we will twist |
| ihr | werdet zwirnen | you (pl.) will twist |
| sie/Sie | werden zwirnen | they will twist |
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 gezwirnt haben | I will have twisted |
| du | wirst gezwirnt haben | you will have twisted |
| er/sie/es | wird gezwirnt haben | he/she/it will have twisted |
| wir | werden gezwirnt haben | we will have twisted |
| ihr | werdet gezwirnt haben | you (pl.) will have twisted |
| sie/Sie | werden gezwirnt haben | they will have twisted |
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 | zwirnte |
| du | zwirntest |
| er/sie/es | zwirnte |
| wir | zwirnten |
| ihr | zwirntet |
| sie/Sie | zwirnten |
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 | zwirne |
| ihr | zwirnt |