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German Tenses - Introduction

How to use German tenses

Introduction
There are six tenses in German: Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Past Perfect, Future I and Future II. Here you will learn when to use these tenses.

 

Overview of German tenses with verb conjugations


The German language has six tenses: Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Past Perfect, Future I and Future II. Here is an overview of the rules of regular and irregular conjugation of verbs in the different tenses.

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Table of Conjugation (2).jpg

Present tense
The present tense is the most used tense in German. We use this tense mainly to speak about the present and the future.
Example:
Ich lerne, I learn
Ich sehe, I see


Past tense / Imperfect
The past tense is used to express facts and doings in the past. We use this tense for narratives and reporting, especially in written language.
Example:
Ich lernte, I learned
Ich sah, I saw


Futur Tense I
We use the Future Tense I mainly to describe an intention for the future or an assumption for the present/future.
Example:
Ich werde lernen, I will learn
Ich werde sehen, I will see

Perfect tense
We use the perfect tense to express that an action was completed in the past, focusing on the result or consequence of the action.
Example:
Ich habe gelernt, I have learned
Ich habe gesehen, I have seen

Past Perfect Tense
We use the Past Perfect Tense when talking about the past (in the past tense) and looking back at something that happened earlier.
Example:
Ich hatte gesehen, I had learned
Ich hatte gesehen, I had seen

 

Futur tense II
The future tense II expresses an assumption that an action will be completed at the time of the expression or at a later time.
Example:
Ich werde gelernt haben, I will have learned
Ich werde gesehen haben, I will have seen

Example sentences

in Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Past Perfect, Future I and Future II.

Present: Ich habe Hunger.

Imperfect: Ich hatte Hunger.

Present Perfect: Ich habe Hunger gehabt.

Past perfect: Ich hatte Hunger gehabt.

Futur I: Ich werde Hunger haben.

Futur II: Ich werde Hunger gehabt haben.

Present: Ich lerne Deutsch.

Imperfect: Ich lernte Deutsch.

Present Perfect: Ich habe Deutsch gelernt.

Past perfect: Ich hatte Deutsch gelernt .

Futur I: Ich werde Deutsch lernen.

Futur II: Ich werde Deutsch gelernt haben.

Present: Ich bin verliebt.

Imperfect: Ich war verliebt.

Present Perfect: Ich bin verliebt gewesen.

Past perfect: Ich war verliebt gewesen.

Futur I: Ich werde verliebt sein.

Futur II:Ich werde verliebt gewesen sein.

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