Tense Stack

The endings — stem + ending = form

Remove -en from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the ending. The wir and sie/Sie forms always match the infinitive — a useful shortcut.

Stem-change verbs — e→i, e→ie, a→ä

Some verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms only. The other four forms keep the original vowel.

The three auxiliaries — haben · sein · werden

These three verbs are irregular in Präsens and appear inside every compound tense. Memorise their six forms — you will use them constantly.

Perfekt — the spoken past

Formed with haben or sein (Präsens) in position 2, plus Partizip II at the end. This is the go-to past tense in conversation.

Präteritum — the written past

The past tense of novels, news reports, and formal writing. Exception: haben and sein, plus modal verbs, use Präteritum even in speech — say "er war" and "ich hatte", not "er ist gewesen".

Plusquamperfekt — the earlier past

The past-before-the-past. Shows that one event happened before another past event. Formed exactly like Perfekt, but swap the Präsens auxiliary for its Präteritum form.

Perfekt vs Präteritum — when to use which

Futur I — intention and prediction

Formed with werden (Präsens) in position 2, plus the Infinitiv at the end. Use it to emphasise a firm intention or to make a prediction.

Futur II — completed future action

A prediction or assumption that something will have been completed by a future point. Formed with werden + Partizip II + haben/sein at the very end.

Präsens as future — the natural choice

When a time marker makes the future clear, Präsens is almost always preferred over Futur I.

Werden — the verb behind three patterns

Werden is the single most important verb to recognise across German grammar because it plays three completely different roles depending on the construction. In Futur I it is the future auxiliary. In Passive it builds the action. In Konjunktiv II it becomes würde — the backbone of the hypothetical. The same verb, three jobs. Recognising it in each role unlocks the whole system at a glance.

The three auxiliaries — würde · hätte · wäre

Every Konjunktiv II construction uses one of three auxiliaries. They all come from verbs you already know: werden, haben, sein. Learning which verb class takes which auxiliary is the key to building any hypothetical sentence.

Konjunktiv II · Hypothetical & Conditional

Konjunktiv II has two forms. The würde-form (würde + Infinitiv) is preferred in spoken German and works for all regular verbs. A small set of high-frequency verbs have their own strong stem forms that are always preferred over würde + their infinitive — because the würde-forms would sound awkward or ambiguous.

Konjunktiv II Perfekt · Past Hypothetical

To talk about something hypothetical in the past — what would have happened if things had been different — combine hätte or wäre (Konjunktiv II) with the Partizip II of the main verb. This is the "third conditional" of German.

Konjunktiv I · Reported Speech

Konjunktiv I is built from the infinitive stem + a set of endings. It is the mood of journalism, official reporting, and formal indirect speech. Using it signals that the speaker is transmitting someone else's words — not personally endorsing them. Where Konjunktiv I forms overlap with Präsens (especially wir, sie/Sie), Konjunktiv II or the würde-form is used instead to keep the indirect-speech signal clear.