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Lesson 1: Meet Jens — Your German language tour guide
Introductions, personal pronouns, formal vs informal address, and the important verb "to be"
Lesson 2: You already speak German! (kind of...)
English/German similarities, cognates, false friends, and the rise of "Denglisch"
Lesson 3: Attack of the German sounds and symbols!
How to pronounce German words: How to say those Ä, Ö, Ü symbols and that weird ß thing
Lesson 4: Introduction to German nouns (and nieces)
German nouns, noun genders, plural nouns, and all the different ways to say "the"
Lesson 5: German greetings and essentials
Greetings, yes and no, please and thank you: The bare minimum you need to survive!
Lesson 6: Introduction to German verbs
The structure of regular verbs, and the important verb "to have"
Lesson 7: Commands
How to give polite and informal commands
Lesson 8: Questions words
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to form basic questions in German
Lesson 9: Smalltalk! Talking about yourself in German
How to say "my name is…", where you come from, and talk about things you like
Lesson 10: How to compare things
How to compare things in German (i.e., better, best) using comparatives and superlatives.
Lesson 11: Ordering in a restaurant
How to order food in a restaurant by saying "I would like..."
Lesson 12: Introduction to German cases
What "cases" are, why you need them, and how to use the nominative and accusative cases.
Lesson 13: The "lazy dative" case
What the "dative" is, when to use it, and why it's the laziest of all the cases.
Lesson 14: German numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in German
lesson 15: Slang and expressions
Some common slang and expressions to make your German sound more natural

Introduction to German verbs

the structure of regular verbs, and the important verb: "to have"

Cartoon of Jens on a tropical island. He is dirty and injured. He says (in German) that he is hungry, thirsty, and scared.

Hold onto your Bratwürste, you're about to learn...

  • The basic structure of German verbs
  • The (very important) verb "to have"

So what happens when you’re still stuck on the desert island with Jens — no rescue in sight — and knowing how to say "please" and "thank you" really isn't enough anymore?

When it's time to take your German to the next level, some of the most useful things you can learn are verbs.

You might remember from your school days that verbs are "doing words". That means they help you to run, jump, throw, and a lot of other very active-sounding things.

But there are also some mega-important verbs that you'll see all the time when you're learning any language. In fact, you've already met one of them in an earlier lesson: The verb, to be.

Here it goes again if you need a refresher. 

I am
Play
ich bin
You are (informal)
Play
du bist
You are (formal)
Play
Sie sind
He is
Play
er ist
She is
Play
sie ist
It is
Play
es ist
All of you are (informal)
Play
ihr seid
All of you are (formal)
Play
sie sind
We are
Play
wir sind
They are
Play
sie sind

How verbs are like Transformers

Notice how the verb "to be" in the table above changes depending on who or what the verb refers to?

We have the same concept of verb changes in English. Sometimes the verb changes a little by just adding an –s to the end. 

  • I sing
  • You sing
  • He/she/it sings
  • We sing
  • They sing

Other times, our English verbs change drastically for each person.

  • I am
  • You are
  • He/she/it is
  • We are
  • They are

German verbs change too. But luckily, they mostly follow a predictable pattern — so once you get the hang of the pattern, you can use a huge number of German verbs. 

To understand how they change, you first need to know the structure of a German verb. Every verb is made of a verb stem and a verb ending. Here are some examples:

Full verb
verb stem + verb ending
Play
gehen (to go)
= geh + en
Play
sagen (to say)
= sag + en
Play
laufen (to run)
= lauf + en

When German verbs change, they drop their original verb ending and take a new ending. Can you find the pattern in the endings below?

Verb endings for singen (to sing) and sagen (to say)

I
Play
ich singe
Play
ich sage
you (informal)
Play
du singst
Play
du sagst
you (formal)
Play
Sie singen
Play
Sie sagen
he
Play
er singt
Play
er sagt
she
Play
sie singt
Play
sie sagt
it
Play
es singt
Play
es sagt
all of you
Play
ihr singt
Play
ihr sagt
we
Play
wir singen
Play
wir sagen
they
Play
sie singen
Play
sie sagen

Now that you've seen the pattern, see if you can figure out the endings for another important verb, gehen (to go). Then click below to check your answer!

Verb endings for gehen (to go)

I go
Click for the answer
Play
 ich gehe
you go (informal)
Click for the answer
Play
du gehst
you go (formal)
Click for the answer
Play
Sie gehen
he goes
Click for the answer
Play
er geht
she goes
Click for the answer
Play
sie geht
it goes
Click for the answer
Play
es geht
all of you go
Click for the answer
Play
ihr geht
we go
Click for the answer
Play
wir gehen
they go
Click for the answer
Play
sie gehen

Now you know the main pattern for German verbs! (Go treat yourself to a schnitzel.) This rule will work for a great many German verbs, but there are a few exceptions. One very important exception is the verb haben (to have).

Essential verb: haben (to have)

The verb “to have” is necessary for all sorts of basic German phrases. (More than you'd probably expect!) It's an irregular verb, so you'll notice that it's a little different from the pattern you've just learned. Here is how the German verb “to have” changes.

Verb endings for haben (to have)

I have
Play
ich habe
you have (informal)
Play
du hast 
you have (formal)
Play
Sie haben
he has
Play
er hat
she has
Play
sie hat 
it has
Play
es hat 
all of you have
Play
ihr habt
we have
Play
wir haben
they have
Play
sie haben

Did you notice how the b disappeared in some of those? 

Haben is an important verb to know when you're stuck on an imaginary desert island with Jens, because you can use it to talk about how you're feeling. 

Instead of saying that you are hungry, thirsty or afraid, in German you say that you have hunger, thirst or fear.

I am hungry. (I have hunger.)
Play
Ich habe Hunger.
He is thirsty. (He has thirst.)
Play
Er hat Durst.
We are afraid. (We have fear.)
Play
Wir haben Angst.

Give it a try. Tell Jens how you feel using the verb "to have".

  • Ich habe __________.

Imaginary island rescue!

After several days of battling imaginary hunger, imaginary weather, and some strange imaginary animals, you find out there are a few things Jens forgot to mention. 

It turns out that he has a few items in his possession that you didn’t know about. (Here comes the verb “to have” again.)

Play
Ich habe einen Rucksack.
I have a backpack.

Really, Jens? What's inside that backpack?

Play
Ich habe Wasser.
I have water.
Play
Ich habe ein paar Streichhölzer.
I have a few matches.
Play
Ich habe zwei Kissen.
I have two pillows.
Play
Guck mal! Ich habe ein Handy!
Look! I have a cellphone!

Okay, maybe it’s about time to lose patience with Jens. But at least he’s got a cellphone to get you off this island. How lucky! (That means it’s time for one more phrase with our new verb.)

Play
Du hast Glück.
You are lucky. (You "have" luck.)
Previous lesson
Next lesson

Free German Lessons

Lesson 1: Meet Jens — Your German language tour guide
Introductions, personal pronouns, formal vs informal address, and the important verb "to be"
Lesson 2: You already speak German! (Kind of...)
English/German similarities, cognates, false friends, and the rise of “Denglisch"
Lesson 3: Attack of the German sounds and symbols!
How to pronounce German words: How to say those Ä, Ö, Ü symbols and that weird ß thing
Lesson 4: Introduction to German nouns (and nieces)
German nouns, noun genders, plural nouns, and all the different ways to say "the"
Lesson 5: German greetings and essentials
Greetings, yes and no, please and thank you: The bare minimum you need to survive!
Lesson 6: Introduction to German verbs
The structure of regular verbs, and the important verb "to have"
Lesson 7: Commands
How to give polite and informal commands
Lesson 8: Questions
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to form basic questions in German
Lesson 9: Smalltalk! Talking about yourself in German
How to say "my name is…", where you come from, and talk about things you like
Lesson 10: How to compare things
How to compare things in German (i.e., better, best) using comparatives and superlatives
Lesson 11: Ordering in a restaurant
How to order food in a restaurant by saying "I would like..."
Lesson 12: Introduction to German cases
What "cases" are, why you need them, and how to use the nominative and accusative cases
Lesson 14: German numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in German
Lesson 13: The "lazy dative" case
What the "dative" is, when to use it, and why it's the laziest of all the cases
Lesson 15: How to sound cool
Some common slang and expressions to make your German sound more natural

German Children's Stories

Henry Hühnchen
Henry Chicken (Chicken Little)
Herr Vogel und Frau Wal
Mr Bird and Ms Whale
Die Drei Kleinen Schweinchen
The Three Little Pigs
Goldlöckchen und die Drei Bären
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Rotkäppchen
Little Red Riding Hood

German course reviews

Rocket German review
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