Conjugation of the verbs haben and sein in present

Let me remind you that the present (Präsens) is the present tense of the verb. Verbs haben"Have" and sein“To be, to be” is the most frequent in the German language, since their functions are very diverse. Beginners to learn German, as a rule, take them on the very first steps, because you cannot do without it. It is important to know that these verbs are irregular, since the formation of their forms in the present tense (and not only in the present) is different from the generally accepted one. But there is no trouble in this: frequency verbs quickly enter vocabulary newbies, since you will have to work with them very often. And further conjugation irregular verbs will become an automatic matter. Actually, let's move on to the verbs.

In Russian we say: "I am an actor", "you are a teacher", "he is a student." The Germans, however, literally say: "I am an actor," "you are a teacher," "he is a student." In this case, we use the verb sein which has various shapes. If we want to say "I have (something or someone)", then we use the verb haben... Literally the Germans say “I have (something or someone)”. To say it all in German, depending on the person, number and gender, refer to the table below.

It is quite easy to navigate the table. You connect the desired personal pronoun (§ 15) with the desired verb and then put the word you need (nouns take the right number). For example, the verb sein with a noun:

You can, for example, say "I am good", "he is bad." In this case, after the verb is the usual adjective without any changes.

With verb haben in the same way, just do not forget about the articles (§ 7), if they are needed. And yet ... since you can have anything and in any quantity, nouns can stand in any number.

There are some persistent phrases like Zeit haben"Have time" Unterricht haben"Have classes" Angst haben"To be afraid", which can be without an article.

• Ich muss los. Ich habe keine Zeit.- I have to go. I have no time.
• Heute habe ich Unterricht.- Today I have classes.
• Ich habe Angst vor diesem Hund.- I'm afraid of this dog.

Verbs sein and haben also participate in the formation of various temporary structures such as auxiliary verbs... More about this in other paragraphs.

Past tense (Präteritum)

Besides Perfekt (perfect time) is in German and just the past tense - Präteritum(which in Latin means past past). It is formed with the suffix -t-... Compare:

Ich tanze. - I dance (present - Präsens).

Ich tanz t e. - I danced (past tense - Präteritum).

This is similar to the English past tense, where the suffix is ​​the sign of the past tense -d-:

I dance - I danced.

Präsens Präteritum

ich sage - I say ich sagte - I said

wir, sie, Sie sagen wir, sie, Sie sagten

du sagst du sagtest

er sagt er sagte (!)

ihr sagt ihr sagtet

Feature Präteritum is that in the form he she it) personal ending is not added -t, that is: forms I and is he match up. (Remember, the same thing happens with modal verbs.)

As we said, there are strong (irregular, non-rule-based) verbs in German. Sagen - weak, regular verb. And here fallen - strong:

ich, er fiel (I, he fell), wir, sie, Sie fielen,

du fielst,

ihr fielt.

The suffix of the past tense is no longer needed here -t-, since the changed word itself indicates the past tense (compare with English: I see - I see, I saw - I saw). Forms I and is he are the same, there are no personal endings in these forms (everything is the same as for modal verbs in the present tense).

So, the Russian phrase I bought a beer German can be translated in two ways:

Ich kaufte Bier. - Präteritum (past tense).

Ich habe Bier gekauft. - Perfekt (perfect time).

What is the difference?

Perfekt used when an action performed in the past is associated with the present moment, when it is actual. For example, you come home and your wife asks you (as they say, dreaming is not harmful):

Hast du Bier gekauft? - Did you buy a beer?

Ja, ich habe Bier gekauft.(You answer with a sense of accomplishment).

She is not interested in the moment in the past when you bought beer, not in history, but in the result of the action - that is, the presence of beer. Is it done or not? Is it done or not? Hence the name - Perfekt (perfect time).

Präteritum (past tense) used when an action performed in the past has nothing to do with the present moment. It's just a story, a story about some past events. therefore Perfekt is used, as a rule, in a conversation, in a dialogue, when exchanging remarks (after all, it is in a conversation that it is not the action itself in the past that is most often important, but its relevance for the present, its result), but Präteritum- in a story, in a monologue. For example, you talk about how you spent your vacation:

Ich kaufte ein paar Flaschen Bier ... Dann ging ich an den Strand ... - I bought a few bottles of beer, went to the beach ...

Or tell your child a fairy tale:

Es war einmal ein König, der hatte drei Töchter ... - Once upon a time there was a king, he had three daughters ...

Ich kam, ich sah, ich siegte. - I came, I saw, I won.

Insofar as Präteritum is needed, as a rule, for a story, then the second person form ( you you) are rarely used. Even in a question to a person telling about something, it is more often used Perfekt - have become so accustomed that this form is for replicas, Präteritum interrupting the narrator in this way sounds very literary (albeit beautiful): Kauftest du Bier? Gingt ihr dann an den Strand? Basically, you will meet and use the following two forms:

(ich, er) kaufte, wir (sie) kauften– for weak verbs,

(ich, er) ging, wir (sie) gingen– for strong verbs.

Table - preteritum formation:

So: in conversation, you use Perfekt, in the story (about events not related to the present moment) - Präteritum.

but Präteritum verbs sein, haben and modal verbs (+ verb wissen) is also used in conversation - along with Perfekt:

Ich war in der Türkei. (Präteritum) - I've been to Turkey.

= Ich bin in der Türkei gewesen. (Perfekt)

Ich hatte einen Hund. (Präteritum) - I had a dog.

= Ich habe einen Hund gehabt. (Perfekt)

Ich musste ihr helfen. (Präteritum) - I had to help her.

= Ich habe ihr helfen müssen. (Perfekt)

Ich wusste das. (Präteritum) - I knew it.

Ich habe das gewusst. (Perfekt)

Past tense forms sein -> war (du warst, er war, wir waren ...) and haben -> hatte (du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten ...) you need to remember.

Modal verbs form Präteritum as weak - by inserting a suffix -t-, with the only feature that Umlaut (mutation) thus "evaporates": müssen -> musste, sollen -> sollte, dürfen -> durfte, können -> konnte, wollen -> wollte.

For example:

Ich konnte in die Schweiz fahren. Ich hatte Glück. Ich war noch nie in der Schweiz. - I was able to go to Switzerland. I was lucky (I was lucky). I have never been to Switzerland before.

Separately, you need to remember: mögen -> mochte:

Ich mochte früher Käse. Jetzt mag ich keinen Käse. - I used to love cheese. Now I don't like cheese.

Now we can write the so-called basic forms of the verb (Grundformen):

Infinitiv Präteritum Partizip 2

kaufen kaufte gekauft

(buy) (bought) (bought)

trinken trank getrunken

For weak verbs, you do not need to memorize the basic forms, since they are formed regularly. The main forms of strong verbs must be memorized (as, by the way, in English: drink - drank - drunk, see - saw - seen ...)

For some strong verbs, as you remember, you need to remember the present tense as well. (Präsens) - for forms you and he she it): nehmen - er nimmt (he takes), fallen - er fällt (he falls).

Of particular note is a small group of verbs intermediate between weak and strong:

denken - dachte - gedacht (to think),

bringen - brachte - gebracht (to bring),

kennen - kannte - gekannt (to know, to be familiar),

nennen - nannte - genannt (to name),

rennen - rannte - gerannt (run, rush),

senden - sandte - gesandt (to send),

(sich) wenden - wandte - gewandt (to address.

They get in Präteritum and in Partizip 2 suffix -t, like weak verbs, but at the same time change the root, like many strong ones.

For senden and wenden weak forms are also possible (although strong (with -but-) are used more often:

Wir sandten/sendeten Ihnen vor vier Wochen unsere Angebotsliste. - We sent you a list of proposals four weeks ago.

Sie wandte/wendete kein Auge von ihm. - She did not take his eyes off him (did not turn away).

Haben Sie sich an die zuständige Stelle gewandt/gewendet? - Have you applied to the appropriate (responsible) authority?

If senden has the meaning broadcast, but wenden - change direction, flip, then only weak forms are possible:

Wir sendeten Nachrichten. “We were broadcasting the news.

Er wendete den Wagen (wendete das Schnitzel). - He turned the car (turned the schnitzel over).

Jetzt hat sich das Blatt gewendet. - Now the page has turned (i.e. new times have come).

There are several cases where the same verb can be both weak and strong. At the same time, its meaning changes. For example, hängen in meaning hang has weak forms, and in the meaning hang - strong (and in general, for such "double" verbs, the active "double", as a rule, has weak forms, and the passive - strong):

Sie hängte das neue Bild an die Wand. - She hung a new painting on the wall.

Das Bild hing schief an der Wand. - The picture hung on the wall crooked.

Hast du die Wäsche aufgehängt? - Have you hung up the laundry?

Der Anzug hat lange im Schrank gehangen. - This suit hung in the closet for a long time.

Verb erschrecken - weak if means frighten, and strong if means get scared:

Er erschreckte sie mit einer Spielzeugpistole. “He scared her with a toy gun.

Sein Aussehen hat mich erschreckt. - His (external) appearance scared me.

Erschrecke nicht! - Do not scare!

Sie erschrak bei seinem Anblick. - She was frightened when she saw him (literally: when she saw him).

Ich bin über sein Aussehen erschrocken. - I am frightened by his appearance (the way he looks).

Erschrick nicht! - Do not be afraid!

Verb bewegen can mean like move, set in motion(and then he is weak) and to induce(strong):

Sie bewegte sich im Schlaf. - She moved (i.e., tossed and turned) in her sleep.

Die Geschichte hat mich sehr bewegt. - This story touched me very much.

Sie bewog ihn zum Nachgeben. - She prompted, forced him to yield (prompted to concession).

Die Ereignisse der letzten Wochen haben ihn bewogen, die Stadt zu verlassen. “The events of recent weeks have prompted him to leave the city.

Verb schaffen - weak in meaning work hard, handle anything(by the way, the motto of the Swabians, and indeed of the Germans in general: schaffen, sparen, Häusle bauen - work, save, build a house) and strong in meaning create, create:

Er schaffte die Abschlussprüfung spielend. - He passed the final exam playfully.

Wir haben das geschafft! - We have achieved this, we have succeeded!

Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde. - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Die Maßnahmen haben kaum neue Arbeitsplätze geschaffen. - These events did not create new jobs.

The German (German) language has the past tense in three whole forms - these are Perfekt, Präteritum and Plusquamperfekt. All three mentioned temporary forms are mute. verbs (verbs) serve to convey actions in the past tense and do not demonstrate any fundamental differences from each other in terms of conveying events.

Präteritum is a simple past tense, used mainly in various ways literary works and in situations where the speaker tells something about past events. Modal verb sein and haben are used in it. language, as a rule, at this time.

In its name, Präteritum coincides with the second of the three main forms of it. verbs. The difference between the two is the fact that when stating the verb. in this temporal form in speech, a personal ending = conjugation is added to the stem Präteritum (with the exception of the third and first person in the singular, in which there are simply no personal endings).

Präteritum: German past tense verbs

Perfekt is a complex past tense, used mainly in dialogical colloquial speech. Perfekt conveys a past action associated with the present or precedence of some action in the present, expressed in the same sentence by another verb. at Präsens. One of the auxiliary verbs is taken to form Perfekt. (sein or haben) in the personal form Präsens and the past participle Partizip II (the third of the basic forms), formed from a semantic verb. Verb. sein for education Perfekt is chosen when the semantic verb. denotes movement, a rapid change in a state. In addition, there are several more verbs that form complex past tenses with sein, which you just need to remember: succeed - succeed - gelingen, become - werden, meet - begegnen, stay - bleiben, be - sein, happen - passieren, happen - geschehen. Verb. haben for education Perfekt is chosen in cases where the semantic verb. is transient, modal, reflexive, or intransient, which, however, has nothing to do with movement, movement or change of state, or it conveys a state of a prolonged nature (for example, sleep - schlafen).

Perfekt: German past tense verbs

Plusquamperfekt is also a complex past tense, which is used in speech when it is necessary to emphasize the precedence of one action in the past. The next action after the pronounced Plusquamperfekt is expressed in such situations by another verb. in the Präteritum. Choice of auxiliary verbs. is carried out in exactly the same way as for Perfekt.

Plusquamperfekt: German Past Verbs

Examples of using German past tenses in speech:

• Den ganzen Sommer verbrachte Irma in ihrem kleinen Landhaus, genoss frische Luft und Einsamkeit. - Irma spent the whole summer in her small country house, enjoying the fresh air and privacy (narrative Präteritum).
• Hat dir Irma verraten, wo sie diesen Sommer verbracht hat? - Irma revealed to you the secret where she spent this summer (dialogical Perfekt)?
• Wir sind jetzt bei Irma, die uns in ihr gemütliches kleines Landhaus eingeladen hat. - We are now with Irma, who invited us to her cozy little country house (the second action in Perfekt precedes the first in Präsens).
• Als wir Irma besuchen wollten, entdeckten wir, dass sie vor ein paar Monaten ihre Wohnung verlassen hatte. - When we wanted to visit Irma, we found that she had left her apartment a few months ago (the last action in Plusquamperfekt precedes the first two in Präteritum).

Step 5 - two of the most important and most common words in German: the verbs haben and sein.
haben- have
sein- be

The conjugation of these two verbs is different from the others. Therefore, you just need to remember them.

haben

sein

I wonder what the verbs haben and sein are used in German much more often than in Russian. There is no verb in the sentence “I am Russian” - we just don’t say it. In German, all sentences have a verb, so this sentence sounds like this: Ich bin Russe... (I am Russian).

Another example. In Russian we say "I have a car." The Germans formulate this phrase differently - "Ich habe ein Auto" (I have a car). That is why these are the most common verbs in German.

And here are two hilarious videos to help you memorize these verbs faster:

The verbs haben and sein: examples

Most popular phrases with sein:

Wie alt bist du? - How old are you?
Ich bin 20 Jahre alt. - I am 20 years old.

Wer bist du? - Who are you?
Ich bin Elena (= Ich heiße Elena). - I'm Elena.
Wer sind Sie? - Who you are?
Ich bin Frau Krause. - I am Frau Krause.
Wo seid ihr? - Where are you?
Wir sind jetzt in Paris. - We are in Paris.
Was ist das? - What is it?
Das ist eine Yogamatte. - This is a yoga mat.

Examples with haben:

Wieviel Gläser hast du? - How many glasses do you have?
Ich habe zwei Glasses. - I have two glasses.
Woher hast du das? - Where did you get this from?
Was hast du? - What do you have?
Ich habe Brot, Käse und Wurst. - I have bread, cheese and sausage.
Hat er Milch zu Hause? - Does he have milk at home?
Ja, er hat. - Yes there is.
Wie viel Teller har er? - How many plates does he have?
Er hat 10 Teller. - He has 10 plates.