Food

Strong Verbs in the Present Tense

We discussed in our Free Time and Hobby Module how weak verbs are very structured and often follow fairly straightforward rules. In this module we will show you strong verbs which are also known as irregular verbs.

Strong verbs also exist in English which don't follow the same pattern as regular verbs.

For example:
to laugh (regular verb): I laugh ⇨ I laughed ⇨ I've laughed
to give (irregular verb): I give ⇨ I gave ⇨ I've given

As you can see, one main difference between strong verbs and weak verbs is that the vowels change in the past tense. That's the same in German.

For example:
lachen (weak verb): ich lache ⇨ ich lachte ⇨ ich habe gelacht
geben (strong verb): ich gebe ⇨ ich gab ⇨ ich habe gegeben

But don't worry too much about the past tense yet, this will be discussed in our House Module.

---

Strong Verbs in the Present Tense

So to recap, German verbs are made up of two parts, the stem and the ending. The stem is the unique and main part of the verb and is formed by chopping the ending off the infinitive. Like weak verbs nearly all strong verbs end in -en in their infinitive form.

For example:
fahren (to drive)
helfen (to help)

Verb endings can change depending on which subject pronoun is used (ich, du, er / sie / es etc.). With each pronoun, the ending of the verb is replaced by the appropriate new ending for the sentence. The endings of strong verbs are formed in the same way as weak verbs. Let's have a look at these endings again.

Table: Strong verbs ending in -en

Pronoun	Stem	Ending	Completed Form
ich	komm	e	ich komme
du	komm	st	du kommst
er / sie / es	komm	t	er / sie / es kommt
wir	komm	en	wir kommen
ihr	komm	t	ihr kommt
sie / Sie	komm	en	sie / Sie kommen

The main difference between strong and weak verbs in the present tense is that the vowels a and e in stems of many strong verbs change for the du and er / sie / es form. This means strong verbs must be memorised in each form as they don't follow the same predictable pattern as weak verbs. However there are some good guidelines to help you. Below are examples of which vowels change and how:

Table: e often changes to i

Pronoun	Stem	Ending	Completed Form
ich	helf	e	ich helfe
du	hilf	st	du hilfst
er / sie / es	hilf	t	er / sie / es hilft
wir	helf	en	wir helfen
ihr	helf	t	ihr helft
sie / Sie	helf	en	sie / Sie helfen

Example sentences:
Er hilft mir sehr viel. ⇨ He helps me a lot.
Florian isst viel Fisch. ⇨ Florian eats a lot of fish.

The most commonly used strong verbs that fall into this category are:

brechen (to break)	helfen (to help)	treffen (to meet)
essen (to eat)	nehmen (to take)	treten (to kick, to step)
geben (to give)	sprechen (to speak)	vergessen (to forget)

---

Table: e sometimes changes to ie

Pronoun	Stem	Ending	Completed Form
ich	seh	e	ich sehe
du	sieh	st	du siehst
er / sie / es	sieh	t	er / sie / es sieht
wir	seh	en	wir sehen
ihr	seh	t	ihr seht
sie / Sie	seh	en	sie / Sie sehen

Example sentences:
Liest du eine SMS? ⇨ Are you reading a text?
Sie sieht den Zucker nicht. ⇨ She can't see the sugar.

The three most commonly strong verbs that fall into this category are:

befehlen (to command)
lesen (to read)
sehen (to see)

---

Table: a often changes to ä

Pronoun	Stem	Ending	Completed Form
ich	fahr	e	ich fahre
du	fähr	st	du fährst
er / sie / es	fähr	t	er / sie / es fährt
wir	fahr	en	wir fahren
ihr	fahr	t	ihr fahrt
sie / Sie	fahr	en	sie / Sie fahren

Example sentences:
Schläfst du noch? ⇨ Are you still sleeping?
Kim fährt jetzt nach München. ⇨ Kim is driving to Munich now.

The most commonly used strong verbs that fall into this category are:

fahren (to drive)	halten (to hold)	schlagen (to hit)
fallen (to fall)	lassen (to let)	tragen (to carry)
fangen (to catch)	schlafen (to sleep)	waschen (to wash)

---

Strong verbs that use the vowels i, o and u in their stem often stay the same in the du and er / sie / es form. The same applies to ei.

For example:
finden ⇨ du findest, er / sie / es findet
kommen ⇨ du kommst, er /sie / es kommt
tun ⇨ du tust, er / sie / es tut
schreiben ⇨ du schreibst, er/ sie /es schreibt

The most common strong verbs that have no vowel change are:

bleiben (to stay)	haben (to have)	stehen (to stand)
finden (to find)	kommen (to come)	trinken (to drink)
fliegen (to fly)	liegen (to lie)	tun (to do)
gehen (to go)	schreiben (to write)	verlieren (to lose)
gewinnen (to win)	sitzen (to sit)	ziehen (to pull)

Tip
Many strong verbs are formed like weak verbs in the present tense. The main difference is that the vowel a and e will often change in the du and er / sie / es form.