Regular Present-Tense Verbs in German

In Brief

To conjugate most regular German verbs in the present tense, remove -en from the infinitive (the dictionary form) and add -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en: ich mache, du machst, er macht, wir machen, ihr macht, sie machen. Verbs with stems ending in -d or -t often insert an extra -e-, as in du arbeitest. German uses this one tense for both English “I work” and “I am working.”

Overview

A verb is a word for an action or situation, such as “learn,” “work,” or “live.” German verbs change their endings to match the subject (the person or thing doing the action). This change is called conjugation. For example, the dictionary gives lernen (“to learn”), but a sentence uses ich lerne (“I learn”) or wir lernen (“we learn”).

This standard pattern is an essential A1 building block. It lets you talk about routines, current activities, plans, and many everyday facts. Once you learn one set of endings, you can apply it to a large number of verbs: machen (do/make), spielen (play), lernen (learn), wohnen (live), kaufen (buy), and fragen (ask).

English-speaking learners need to notice two differences. First, English usually changes only the third-person form (I work but she works), whereas German has several distinct endings. Second, German has no ordinary equivalent of the English “be + -ing” present progressive. Depending on context, Ich arbeite can mean “I work” or “I am working.”

How It Works

Start with the infinitive and find the stem

The infinitive is the basic dictionary form of a verb. Most German infinitives end in -en. Remove this ending to find the stem (the part that carries the basic meaning), then attach the ending that matches the subject.

Infinitive	Meaning	Remove	Stem
machen	to do, make	-en	mach-
spielen	to play	-en	spiel-
lernen	to learn	-en	lern-
arbeiten	to work	-en	arbeit-

A few infinitives end in just -n, especially verbs in -eln and -ern, such as sammeln and wandern. Their present-tense forms are discussed under Advanced Use.

The regular endings

Here is the complete present-tense pattern with machen:

Person	Subject pronoun	Ending	machen	English
first-person singular	ich	-e	ich mache	I do / I am doing
second-person singular, informal	du	-st	du machst	you do / you are doing
third-person singular	er/sie/es	-t	er/sie/es macht	he/she/it does / is doing
first-person plural	wir	-en	wir machen	we do / we are doing
second-person plural, informal	ihr	-t	ihr macht	you all do / are doing
third-person plural	sie	-en	sie machen	they do / are doing
formal singular or plural	Sie	-en	Sie machen	you do / are doing

Two useful shortcuts follow from the table:

• The wir, sie, and formal Sie forms normally look exactly like the infinitive: wir spielen, sie lernen, Sie wohnen.
• The er/sie/es and ihr forms normally share -t: sie spielt, ihr spielt.

German sie can mean “she” or “they.” The verb ending helps: sie lernt means “she learns,” while sie lernen means “they learn.” Capitalized Sie is formal “you” and also takes -en.

Verbs whose stems end in -d or -t

A cluster such as -tst is difficult to pronounce. Regular verbs with a stem ending in -d or -t therefore usually insert -e- before endings beginning with t. Compare arbeiten:

Person	Form	What happens
ich	arbeite	normal -e ending
du	arbeitest	inserted -e- before -st
er/sie/es	arbeitet	inserted -e- before -t
wir	arbeiten	normal -en ending
ihr	arbeitet	inserted -e- before -t
sie/Sie	arbeiten	normal -en ending

The same principle appears in reden (“talk”): du redest, er redet, ihr redet. It also applies to many stems ending in a consonant cluster that would otherwise be awkward before -st or -t, as in du öffnest and er rechnet. Learn such forms by saying them aloud; the extra vowel makes the ending audible.

Stems ending in an s-sound

If the stem already ends in -s, -ß, -z, or often -x, the normal du ending -st is reduced to -t because the stem already supplies the s sound:

Infinitive	Stem	du form	Not
reisen	reis-	du reist	du reisst
heißen	heiß-	du heißt	du heißst
tanzen	tanz-	du tanzt	du tanzst
faxen	fax-	du faxt	du faxst

This is a spelling and pronunciation adjustment, not an irregular change of meaning or stem vowel.

What the German present tense can mean

The German Präsens covers several jobs that English divides among different forms:

German use	German example	Natural English equivalent
habit or routine	Ich jogge jeden Morgen.	I jog every morning.
action happening now	Ich koche gerade.	I am cooking right now.
general fact	Er arbeitet in München.	He works in Munich.
arranged or expected future	Wir reisen morgen nach Berlin.	We are travelling to Berlin tomorrow.

Words such as gerade (“right now”), jeden Tag (“every day”), and morgen (“tomorrow”) make the intended time clear. Do not build a progressive form by translating English “am/is/are” word for word.

The verb's place in a sentence

Conjugation and word order work together. In a basic statement, the conjugated verb is in the second position—the second sentence element, not necessarily the second written word:

• Ich lerne heute Deutsch.
• Heute lerne ich Deutsch.

In a yes/no question, it normally comes first: Arbeitest du heute? In a question with a question word, it follows that word: Wo wohnst du? The verb still has to agree with its subject even when the subject moves.

Negation does not change the conjugation: Ich arbeite heute nicht (“I am not working today”).

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Ich mache Sport.	I do sports.	ich + -e
Du spielst Gitarre.	You play guitar.	informal singular du + -st
Sie arbeitet in München.	She works in Munich.	extra -e- after a -t stem
Wir lernen heute Deutsch.	We are learning German today.	wir form matches the infinitive
Kauft ihr das Brot?	Are you all buying the bread?	verb-first yes/no question
Die Kinder wohnen hier.	The children live here.	a noun subject takes the plural form
Herr Klein, arbeiten Sie morgen?	Mr Klein, are you working tomorrow?	formal Sie takes -en
Meine Schwester kocht jeden Abend.	My sister cooks every evening.	singular noun subject takes -t
Du tanzt sehr gut.	You dance very well.	du form after a stem ending in -z
Wie heißt du?	What is your name?	literally “How are you called?”; -ß + -t
Ich reise nächste Woche nach Wien.	I am travelling to Vienna next week.	present tense with future meaning
Heute lernt Paul zu Hause.	Paul is studying at home today.	verb remains in second position
Wir reden gerade über die Arbeit.	We are talking about work right now.	gerade signals an action in progress
Ihr wartet vor dem Kino.	You all are waiting outside the cinema.	extra -e- in wartet
Sie öffnen das Fenster.	They open the window.	lowercase sie + plural verb means “they”

Common Mistakes

Leaving the infinitive unchanged

• Wrong: Ich lernen Deutsch.
• Right: Ich lerne Deutsch.
• Why: A finite verb (the verb form tied to a subject) needs the ending for that subject. Ich takes -e.

Using the English third-person pattern

• Wrong: Er spielen Fußball.
• Right: Er spielt Fußball.
• Why: German er/sie/es takes -t. Do not use the infinitive just because English changes only one present-tense person.

Forgetting the extra -e- in arbeiten-type verbs

• Wrong: Du arbeitst heute.
• Right: Du arbeitest heute.
• Why: A stem ending in -t normally inserts -e- before the du and other t-initial endings.

Adding the full -st after an s-sound

• Wrong: Du tanzst gern.
• Right: Du tanzt gern.
• Why: After stems ending in -s, -ß, or -z, the du ending is -t, not -st.

Translating “am working” word for word

• Wrong: Ich bin arbeiten.
• Right: Ich arbeite.
• Why: Standard German normally uses the simple present for both “I work” and “I am working.” Add gerade when “right now” matters: Ich arbeite gerade.

Losing agreement when the sentence starts with another element

• Wrong: Heute ich lerne Deutsch.
• Right: Heute lerne ich Deutsch.
• Why: In a main-clause statement, the conjugated verb occupies the second position. Moving heute to the front places the subject after the verb, but lernt/lerne must still agree with the subject.

Usage Notes

Subject pronouns are usually stated in German. Unlike languages where verb endings routinely allow the pronoun to disappear, standard German normally says ich lerne and du spielst, not simply lerne and spielst. Pronouns may be omitted in commands, short notes, diaries, text messages, or coordinated clauses where the subject is already clear, but beginners should keep them in ordinary statements.

German distinguishes informal and formal “you.” Use du for one person in an informal relationship and ihr for several people addressed informally. Formal Sie addresses one or more people and always takes the same -en form as the infinitive: Arbeiten Sie hier? Capitalization distinguishes formal Sie from “they” sie in writing; context and sentence position help in speech.

Many German verbs do not map neatly onto one English verb. machen can mean “do” or “make,” while spielen is used for games, sports, instruments, and acting. Knowing the ending does not guarantee that an English verb can be translated literally, so learn common verbs in short phrases: Sport machen, Fußball spielen, Gitarre spielen.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of the following at A1, but these details complete the regular pattern and help you recognize later forms.

Verbs in -eln and -ern

Verbs whose infinitives end in -eln or -ern use the same basic endings, but pronunciation can affect the first-person singular. With sammeln (“collect”), standard usage normally drops the unstressed e from the stem: ich sammle, not ich sammele in most everyday contexts. The other forms include du sammelst, er sammelt, wir sammeln. With wandern (“hike”), the forms are ich wandere, du wanderst, er wandert, wir wandern.

Regular patterns can coexist with other verb types

“Regular” here refers to the stem and endings in the present-tense paradigm. Other features may still affect the sentence. A separable verb moves its prefix to the end of a main clause (Ich kaufe heute ein), while an inseparable verb does not. Stem-changing verbs such as fahren and lesen alter their vowel in some singular forms and belong to a later pattern: du fährst, sie liest.

A verb can also follow the regular present-tense endings but have pronunciation or spelling adjustments. That is why arbeiten and tanzen still count as regular: their stems do not unpredictably change.

Present forms in more complex clauses

In a main clause, the conjugated verb occupies the second position. In a subordinate clause (a dependent part introduced by a word such as weil or dass), it normally moves to the end:

• Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich in Berlin arbeite.
• “I am learning German because I work in Berlin.”

The ending itself stays the same; only the position changes. This distinction becomes important as you study German word order.

The regular pattern beyond the present

Many verbs that are regular in the present also form the simple past with -te and the past participle with ge-...-t: machen – machte – gemacht, lernen – lernte – gelernt. A past participle is a verb form used in constructions such as ich habe gelernt (“I learned / have learned”). There are important structural exceptions: verbs ending in -ieren, such as studieren, are regular but form the participle without ge- (studiert). These past forms are separate topics; for now, the useful point is that recognizing a regular stem pays off later.

Practice Tips

1. Build forms from stems, not from memory alone. Choose five useful verbs, remove -en, and write all six person forms. Include one ordinary verb, one arbeiten-type verb, and one verb ending in an s-sound.
2. Practice in contrasting pairs. Say ich lerne – du lernst, sie arbeitet – sie arbeiten, and du tanzt – ihr tanzt. This trains you to hear both the person and the singular/plural contrast.
3. Add time words and change the word order. Turn Ich arbeite heute into Heute arbeite ich, then ask Arbeitest du heute? You will practice conjugation, present-tense meaning, and verb position together.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns (Nominative) — identify the subject that controls the verb ending.
• Next step: Stem-Changing Verbs — keep the personal endings while changing the stem vowel in selected forms.
• Next step: Word Order (Main Clause) — place the conjugated verb correctly when another element begins the sentence.
• Next step: Modal Verbs: können, müssen — combine a conjugated modal with another verb in the infinitive.
• Next step: Separable Verbs (Present) — apply present-tense endings while moving the prefix.
• Related use: Expressing Preferences (gern) — use present-tense verbs to say what you like doing.
• Later development: Imperative (Commands) — form requests and commands from familiar verb stems.
• Later development: Future Tense (Futur I) — compare explicit future forms with the present tense used for scheduled future events.