German Verb Conjugation

German verbs change their form depending on the subject, tense, and mood. This process, called conjugation, is a fundamental part of German grammar. German verb conjugation involves modifying the verb stem and adding specific endings for each person and number.

Regular (weak) verbs follow predictable patterns: the stem stays the same, and standard endings are added. However, strong verbs change their stem vowel in past tenses and sometimes in the present tense (e.g. sehen → sieht, sah, gesehen). Modal verbs (können, müssen, sollen, wollen, dürfen, mögen) have special conjugation patterns and are used with infinitives.

German has two subjunctive moods: Konjunktiv I is used for indirect speech (er sage, er habe gesagt), while Konjunktiv II expresses hypothetical situations, wishes, and polite requests (ich würde sehen, ich hätte gesehen). The Konjunktiv II forms with würde are commonly used as an alternative to the simple Konjunktiv II forms.

The best way to learn German conjugation is through consistent practice. Use the quiz mode above to test yourself on the tenses you find most challenging, and refer to the conjugation tables whenever you need to check a specific form.