{"id":94246,"date":"2019-11-13T08:19:53","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T13:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-verb-conjugation\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T07:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T11:34:12","slug":"german-verb-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-verb-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"Conjugating Verbs in German"},"content":{"rendered":"

German verb conjugation is more than just changing verbs according to tense. You also need to consider the subject pronouns used with those verbs and the types of verbs they are\u2014weak, strong or mixed.<\/p>\n

If that sounds a bit too much to wrap your head around, don’t worry. This guide will simplify the process of conjugating verbs in German in three steps.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Check the Subject Pronoun<\/h2>\n

When conjugating verbs in German, make sure they match the pronoun doing the action of the verb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Let’s have a quick refresher on German subject pronouns (a.k.a. nominative pronouns)<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Subject<\/th>Pronoun<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
I<\/td> ich <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You (informal)<\/td> du <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
He<\/td> er <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
She<\/td> sie <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It<\/td> es <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
One\/You (indefinite)<\/td> man <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
We<\/td> wir <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You (plural, informal)<\/td> ihr <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
They \/ You (formal; plural or singular)<\/td> Sie <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Now, let’s take a common verb like\u00a0machen <\/em>(to do, to make), and see how it looks when conjugated in the present tense alongside each pronoun:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Pronoun<\/th>Conjugation of Machen<\/em> (To Do\/To Make)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
ich<\/em><\/td> mache<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du<\/em><\/td> machst<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es\/man<\/em><\/td> macht<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wir<\/em><\/td> machen<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr<\/em><\/td> macht<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie<\/em><\/td> machen<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Keep in mind that all of the above words have the same meaning and tense. The only difference is that the endings after the stem mach-<\/em> change according to the pronoun used with them.<\/p>\n

For simplicity’s sake, we used just one verb type and one tense in the above example. As you’ll soon see, things get just a little fiddlier when we go into other verb types and tenses.<\/p>\n

2. Determine the Type of Verb<\/h2>\n

German verbs can be classified into three groups based on how they’re conjugated: weak (regular) verbs, strong (irregular) verbs and mixed verbs.<\/p>\n

Weak or Regular Verbs<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Fortunately for learners, over 90 percent of German verbs are regular or “weak,” like machen<\/em> from our earlier example. I say “fortunately,” because conjugating weak verbs involves the same basic steps:<\/p>\n