Understanding the Different Types of German Verbs

Just when you finally start getting used to der, die, and das, German verbs come into the picture. At first, they may seem easy and unintimidating, but once you start going through conjugations, tenses, and irregular verbs, it can get a bit complicated.

Still, the German language, like many others, relies heavily on verbs to convey actions, states, or occurrences. This means that understanding the different types of verbs in German is crucial for mastering the language. Here, we'll explore some of the various categories of German verbs, how they function in sentences, and a few examples to help paint the picture.

What is a German Verb?

German verbs express an action, a state of being, concepts, and more. As in English, verbs are essential for constructing sentences, as they shape the sentence and give you context as to what's going on. And, while many people find English to be a complicated language to learn, there aren't very many forms of a verb. In other languages—German included—verbs and conjugating verbs can be quite a headache.

German verbs can be complex due to their various conjugations, forms, and usage in different contexts. Unlike English, where verb conjugation is relatively straightforward, German verbs change their form based on tense, mood, person, and number, making learning a bit more challenging. Plus, several types of German verbs can be used in a sentence, each with its own rules and changes.

Infinite and Finite German Verbs

First, it's important to understand the difference between infinite and finite forms. Infinite verbs are not conjugated and do not reflect person, number, tense, or mood. All German verbs listed in the dictionary are in their infinite forms. Finite verbs are conjugated and reflect the person (first, second, or third), number (singular or plural), tense (present, past, or future), and sometimes mood. 

German Verb Conjugation Based on Strength

German verbs can be regular or irregular, but they can also be classified into one of three groups (weak, strong, and mixed) based on their conjugation patterns. Unfortunately, there's no hidden secret or trick to tell which is which... It's all about memorization and practice. Let's look more closely at types based on German verb conjugations below.

Weak German Verbs

Weak verbs (a.k.a. regular verbs) are the most common in the German language. They follow a consistent conjugation pattern, making them pretty straightforward to learn. The conjugation simply involves adding the appropriate ending to the stem, which doesn't change regardless of tense or subject. 

For example, the verb "spielen," which means "to play" can be conjugated in the following way:

• Ich spiele (I play)
• Ich spielte (I played)
• Ich habe gespielt (I have played)

As you can see, the present adds the suffix "-e" for the first person. The past tense of weak verbs is formed by adding the suffix "-te" to the verb stem, and the past participle is typically formed by adding "ge-" at the beginning and "-t" at the end.

Another example is the verb "machen," which means "to make." This is conjugated as:

• Ich mache (I make)
• Ich machte (I made)
• Ich habe gemacht (I have made)

Strong German Verbs

Strong verbs are irregular and don't follow the same conjugation patterns as weak verbs. Instead, they undergo a vowel change in the stem when conjugated in the past tense and the past participle. The endings for these German verbs vary, which means they all need to be memorized. The list of regular and irregular verbs can be a bit daunting, but start with memorizing the most common irregular ones and slowly build your vocabulary.

Two common strong verbs are "fahren" (to drive) and "sehen" (to see). Each is conjugated in the present, past, and past participle as shown below:

fahren (to drive)

• Ich fahre (I drive)
• Ich fuhr (I drove)
• Ich bin gefahren (I have driven)

sehen (to see)

• Ich sehe (I see)
• Ich sah (I saw)
• Ich habe gesehen (I have seen)

Mixed German Verbs

If it couldn't get any more complicated, mixed verbs combine elements of both weak and strong verbs. They follow the weak verb pattern in the past participle but undergo a stem change like strong verbs in the past tense. Luckily, there aren't many mixed verbs in German, but they are commonly used and worth noting. Two examples are as follows:

bringen (to bring)

• Ich bringe (I bring)
• Ich brachte (I brought)
• Ich habe gebracht (I have brought)

denken (to think)

• Ich denke (I think)
• Ich dachte (I thought)
• Ich habe gedacht (I have thought)

Three Primary Types of German Verbs

Apart from the strength-based classification, German verbs are also categorized into three primary types based on their function in a sentence: main verbs, auxiliary verbs, and modal verbs. To help you differentiate between the different types of German verbs, download Tandem and match with a native speaker today. Until then, let's keep adding to our list of German verbs. It's also important to note that any of the remaining types of German verbs will also either be weak, strong, or mixed.

Main Verbs (Vollverben)

Main German verbs, or "Vollverben," express the primary action or state of the subject. They carry the core meaning of a sentence and can stand alone without the need for additional verbs. Some examples include:

schreiben (to write)

• Sie schreibt einen Brief. (She is writing a letter.)

essen (to eat)

• Wir essen Abendessen. (We are eating dinner.)

lesen (to read)

• Er liest ein Buch. (He is reading a book.)

fahren (to drive)

• Sie fährt nach Berlin. (She is driving to Berlin.)

sprechen (to speak)

• Wir sprechen Deutsch. (We are speaking German.)

trinken (to drink)

• Ich trinke Kaffee. (I am drinking coffee.)

Auxiliary Verbs (Hilfsverben)

Auxiliary German verbs, or "Hilfsverben," are used in addition to main verbs to form different tenses, voices, or moods. The three auxiliary verbs in German are "haben" (to have), "sein" (to be), and "werden" (to become). They're often used to form compound tenses or in passive voices. 

haben (to have)

• Ich habe gelesen. (I have read.)
• Du hast geschrieben. (You have written.)
• Sie hat gegessen. (She has eaten.)
• Wir haben gearbeitet. (We have worked.)

sein (to be)

• Er ist gegangen. (He has gone.)
• Ich bin gefahren. (I have driven.)
• Sie sind gekommen. (They have come.)
• Wir sind geblieben. (We have stayed.)

werden (to become)

• Wir werden essen. (We will eat.)
• Er wird lernen. (He will learn.)
• Ich werde gehen. (I will go.)
• Sie werden sprechen. (They will speak.)

What is a Modal Verb in German?

Modal verbs, or "Modalverben," express necessity, possibility, permission, or ability. They're always used with a main verb in its infinitive form. The six modal verbs in German are "können" (can), "müssen" (must), "dürfen" (may), "sollen" (should), "wollen" (want to), and "mögen" (like).

können (can)

• Er kann Deutsch sprechen. (He can speak German.)
• Wir können heute kommen. (We can come today.)
• Sie kann gut singen. (She can sing well.)

müssen (must)

• Ich muss zur Arbeit gehen. (I must go to work.)
• Wir müssen das Buch lesen. (We must read the book.)
• Er muss früh aufstehen. (He must get up early.)

dürfen (may)

• Ihr dürft hier bleiben. (You all may stay here.)
• Er darf nicht rauchen. (He may not smoke.)
• Darf ich fragen? (May I ask?)

sollen (should)

• Du sollst das tun. (You should do that.)
• Wir sollen pünktlich sein. (We should be on time.)
• Er soll kommen. (He should come.)

wollen (want to)

• Ich will ein Auto kaufen. (I want to buy a car.)
• Wir wollen ins Kino gehen. (We want to go to the cinema.)
• Sie will nach Hause gehen. (She wants to go home.)

mögen (like)

• Ich mag Pizza essen. (I like to eat pizza.)
• Sie mag lesen. (She likes to read.)
• Wir mögen Musik hören. (We like to listen to music.)

Separable vs. Non-Separable German Verbs

Another important distinction in German verbs is between separable and non-separable verbs. Separable verbs have a prefix and a base verb. In their infinite form, the prefix is attached to the front, but in their conjugated form, the prefix is separated from the base verb and placed at the end of the sentence.

aufstehen (to stand up)

• Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf. (I get up at 7 o'clock.)

mitkommen (to come along)

• Kommst du mit? (Are you coming along?)

einkaufen (to shop)

• Ich kaufe am Wochenende ein. (I shop on the weekend.)

anrufen (to call)

• Er ruft seinen Freund an. (He calls his friend.)

aufmachen (to open)

• Sie macht das Fenster auf. (She opens the window.)

Non-separable verbs have prefixes that remain attached to the verb, regardless of how they are conjugated or used in a sentence. 

verstehen (to understand)

• Ich verstehe dich. (I understand you.)

besuchen (to visit)

• Wir besuchen unsere Großeltern. (We visit our grandparents.)

erkennen (to recognize)

• Ich erkenne ihn sofort. (I recognize him immediately.)

empfehlen (to recommend)

• Ich empfehle dir dieses Buch. (I recommend this book to you.)

Other Types of Verbs in German to Know

Certain German verbs can also be classified differently based on their role and function within the sentence. A few other types of German verbs to know include reflexive, transitive, personal, impersonal, indicative, subjunctive, and imperative verbs.

Reflexive German Verbs

Reflexive verbs are used when the subject and the object of the verb are the same. In German, these verbs require a reflexive pronoun (e.g., "mich," "dich," "sich") to indicate that the action is being performed on the subject itself.

sich waschen (to wash oneself)

• Ich wasche mich. (I wash myself.)

sich freuen (to be glad)

• Wir freuen uns. (We are glad.)

sich anziehen (to dress oneself)

• Er zieht sich an. (He is getting dressed.)

Transitive Verbs in German

Transitive verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning. Without the direct object in the accusative German case addition, the sentence doesn't usually make sense. They answer the question "what?" or "whom?" after the verb. 

lesen (to read)

• Sie liest ein Buch. (She reads a book.)

schreiben (to write)

• Er schreibt einen Brief. (He writes a letter.)

kaufen (to buy)

• Ich kaufe einen neuen Laptop. (I buy a new laptop.)

trinken (to drink)

• Er trinkt ein Glas Wasser. (He drinks a glass of water.)

sehen (to see)

• Sie sieht den Film. (She sees the movie.)

nehmen (to take)

• Wir nehmen den Bus. (We take the bus.

Personal and Impersonal Verbs

Personal verbs are used with a specific subject (usually a person), while impersonal verbs are typically used in contexts where no specific subject is involved, often with "es" (it) as the subject.__ Impersonal verbs__ cannot have the subject be a noun and are most often used with weather. 

Personal verb: arbeiten (to work)

• Ich arbeite jeden Tag. (I work every day.)

Impersonal verb: regnen (to rain)

• Es regnet. (It is raining.)

Impersonal Verb: dunkel werden (to get dark)

• Es wird dunkel. (It is getting dark.)

Indicative, Subjunctive, and Imperative German Verbs

All three of these types of German verbs describe mood or intention and give the sentence more context. Verbs in the indicative mood, the most commonly used mood in German, are used to make factual statements or ask questions. For example:

• Ich lerne Deutsch. (I am learning German.)
• Er arbeitet heute. (He is working today.)
• Sie hat den Film gesehen. (She has seen the movie.)
• Er wird nächste Woche reisen. (He will travel next week.)

The subjunctive mood expresses wishes, doubts, hypothetical situations, or polite requests. This is like the verbs would, should, and could in English. In German, there are two forms of the subjunctive: Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I) and Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II). Subjunctive I is used for reporting speech in a way that disconnects the speaker, while subjunctive II is used more for hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.

Konjunktiv I: sei (be)

• Er sagt, sie sei krank. (He says she is sick.)

Konjunktiv II: wären (would be)

• Wenn ich reich wäre, würde ich reisen. (If I were rich, I would travel.)

Finally, the imperative mood for German verbs is used for giving commands or making requests. The verb form changes depending on whether you're addressing one person, a group of people, or using the formal "Sie." Unlike other verb forms, the imperative drops the subject pronoun in most cases, focusing directly on the action.

Sprechen (to speak)

• Sprich! (Speak! - addressing one person)
• Sprecht! (Speak! - addressing a group)
• Sprechen Sie! (Speak! - formal)

kommen (to come)

• Komm! (Come! - addressing one person)
• Kommt! (Come! - addressing a group)
• Kommen Sie! (Come! - formal)

essen (to eat)

• Iss! (Eat! - addressing one person)
• Esst! (Eat! - addressing a group)
• Essen Sie! (Eat! - formal)

By familiarizing yourself with these different types of verbs and practicing their usage in sentences, you can gain a deeper understanding of German grammar and improve your communication skills. To help you put those skills into practice, download Tandem. 

Tandem offers a unique language learning experience that will help you deepen your understanding and improve your German verb usage while learning to apply different grammar rules in real conversations. All you need to do is download the app, sign up, and find a native speaker of your target language. Once you match, you’ll begin communicating through language exchange and one-on-one teaching. To join our worldwide community, sign up for Tandem today!