| 5.2.2 German Conjugation - Irregular Verbs |
In German language there are two verbs that are completely
irregular or better said they don't have a stem. But
you shouldn't forget that this kind of verb exists also
in English:
| to be |
| I am |
| you are |
| he is |
| we are |
| you are |
| they are |
In German there are two totally irregular verbs that
are sein (to be) and haben (to have). Both are quite
important especially since haben is used to form the
compound tenses.
| sein | haben | ||||
| ich | bin | I am | habe | I have | |
| du | bist | you are | hast | you have | |
| er/sie/es | ist | he/she/it is | hat | he/she/it has | |
| wir | sind | we are | haben | we have | |
| ihr | seid | you are | habt | you have | |
| sie | sind | they are | haben | they have | |
 |
|
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The verb haben has the double function like the verb
as a full verb for owning something
as a modal verb for forming the compound tenses
| Ich
habe gegessen. =
I have eaten. Ich habe ein Auto. = I have a car. |
|
A language consists above of all words. In all languages, you need around 3,500 words to make yourself understood and to understand what the others say. At first glance this might sound a lot, but you will notice that it's not that bad. There are lots of words quite similar to English.
And thinking of 10 words per day you'll have the 3,500 in about a year. That's not too bad, isn't it? Everyone has his or her own way of learning. Some read books or articles and search for the unknown words in the dictionary; some others put little yellow notes with the vocabulary all over their home at the fridge there is the note KÜHLSCHRANK, in the bathroom BAD etc.
Whatever your way of doing it is - the most difficult of this is the start. But like the Chinese proverb - Even a journey of 10,000 km starts with one step. So, take the step and have a look at our exercises of conjugation.
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