German Verbs

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Types of Verbs

Transitive: have a direct object

He carried the box

Intransitive: don't have a direct object

He smiled

Active: subject of verb does the thing

She's eating

Passive: subject of verb receives the action

The apple was eaten

Subject Pronoun

1st person

ich - I

wir - We

2nd person

du - you

Sie - you (polite), you guys (polite)

ihr - you guys

3rd person

er - him

sie - she

es - it

sie - they

Polite form is the same as 3rd person plural

Sie and sie

Sie (polite you) is followed by a 3rd person verb like sie (they)

Regular Verbs

Verbs have two parts: the stem and the ending

Verbs in their infinitive case (dictionary form) usually ends in -n or -en

Removing -en or -n gives you the stem

Irregular verbs sometimes end in -eln or -ern

Present Indicative Tense

1st Person Singular

ich stem + e

1st Person Plural

wir infinitive

2nd Person Singular

du stem + st

Sie infinitive

2nd Person Plural

ihr stem + t/et

Sie infinitive

3rd Person Singular

er/sie/es stem + t

3rd Person Plural

sie infinitive

Verbs ending in -eln omit the e before the l in 1st person singular

Verbs ending in -ern may omit the e but don't have to

"One ..." is man stem + t

man speilt - one plays