| 5.2.1 German Conjugation - Strong Verbs |
Now we come to a little challenge. Some of the verbs
change their stem in the conjugation. These are called
strong verbs. Here are some examples:
| infinitive | lesen | laufen | essen |
| translation | to read | to walk | to eat |
| ich | les-e | lauf-e | ess-e |
| du | lies-t | läuf -st | iss-t |
| er/sie/es | lies-t | läuf-t | iss-t |
| wir | les-en | lauf-en | ess-en |
| ihr | les-t | lauf-t | ess-t |
| sie | les-en | lauf-en | ess-en |
 |
|
|
| infinitive | schlafen | mögen | brechen |
| translation | to sleep | to like | to break |
| ich | schlaf-e | mag | brech-e |
| du | schläf-st | mag-st | brich-st |
| er/sie/es | schläf-t | mag | brich-t |
| wir | schlaf-en | mög-en | brech-en |
| ihr | schlaf-t | mög-t | brech-t |
| sie | schlaf-en | mög-en | brech-en |
|
|
|
| infinitive | dürfen | fahren | geben |
| translation | to may | to drive | to give |
| ich | darf | fahr-e | geb-e |
| du | darf-st | fähr-st | gib-st |
| er/sie/es | darf | fähr-t | gib-t |
| wir | dürf-en | fahr-en | geb-en |
| ihr | dürf-t | fahr-t | geb-t |
| sie | dürf-en | fahr-en | geb-en |
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We admit that this does not real ease the issue of German grammar. However, you can see it as the richness of German language to be enjoyed. Furthermore, other languages have other difficulties (English has lots of irregular past tenses, not to mention French or Spanish!). We'll continue with conjugations in chapter 15 past tenses. Still it's best to take one step after another.
