Präsens Für Mittelstufe-Lernende

The meaning of the Präsens depends on context and time expressions. Its main uses include:

Use the present tense for an action in progress. Gerade can emphasize right now:

For a situation that began in the past and still continues, German commonly uses Präsens + seit. English often uses a present perfect form:

Use the present tense for repeated activities, often with expressions such as jeden Tag, oft, or immer:

General facts also take the present tense:

The present tense often refers to the future when the context or a time expression makes this clear. Futur I is not required just because an event happens later:

The present tense can describe the steps of an instruction or recount what happens in a story or film:

The conjugated verb agrees with the subject's person and number. For most verbs, combine a verb stem with a personal ending.

Most infinitives end in -en. Remove this ending to find the basic stem: spielen → spiel-, lesen → les-. For verbs ending in -eln or -ern, remove only -n: sammeln → sammel-, wandern → wander-.

Verb stem + personal ending is the basic pattern. Some verbs also change their stem. Compare these groups:

The table below shows the usual endings with lernen (to learn):

Watch for these common ending patterns:

Many strong verbs change their stem vowel with du and er/sie/es, for example a → ä or e → i/ie. The ich form and the plural keep the basic vowel. Learn these changes with each verb:

Not every strong verb changes its vowel in the present tense: kommen → du kommst.

Learn the frequent verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have) with their irregular forms. The table below shows their present tense:

Present-tense sentences follow the usual German word-order patterns:

In a normal main-clause statement, the conjugated verb occupies position 2. Count sentence elements, not individual words. If a time expression comes first, the subject can follow the verb:

With a separable verb, the conjugated part stays in position 2 and the prefix goes to the end of the main clause:

In a neutral yes/no question, put the conjugated verb first, followed by the subject:

Use nicht to negate a statement or part of it. Its position depends on what is negated. It can stand at the end, but it comes before a predicate adjective or a separable prefix in the following patterns:

Use kein to negate a noun phrase that would otherwise have ein or no article: