Grammar: Verb Tense Formation Flashcards
How do you form the present tense?
stem + present tense endings
lernen:
- lerne
- lernst
- lernt
- lernen
- lernt
- lernen
What are the present tense endings (1st and 3rd)?
e
t
en
en
How do you form the simple past tense?
stem + past tense endings
lernen:
- lernte
- lerntest
- lernte
- lernten
- lerntet
- lernten
What are the past tense endings (1st and 3rd)?
te
te
ten
ten
How do you form the present perfect (aka, compound past) tense?
present tense (sein/haben) + past participle
Gestern hat Michael sein Büro aufgeräumt. (haben + aufräumen)
Yesterday, Michael cleaned up his office.
How is the past participle usually formed?
- The past participle is usually formed by inputting a “ge” prefix at the beginning of the stem and ending with a “t” or “en.”
- Separable prefix verbs will split the prefix and the stem
kommen = gekommen
aufräumen = aufgeräumt
- The easiest way to identify past participles is to know where they will show up, which is always at the end of a sentence (if used verbally; they can be used as adjectives, as well, in which case they will not be at the end of the sentence but precede a noun).
How do you form the past perfect tense?
past of (sein/haben) + past participle
Sie hatte sehr lange geübt…
She had practiced for a very long (time)…
How do you form the future tense?
present of (werden) + infinitive
Morgen werde ich die Akten sortieren.
I will sort the files tomorrow.
How do you form the future perfect tense?
present (werden) + past participle + infinitive (sein/haben)
Er wird wohl gestürzt sein.
He probably will have fallen.
How do you form the subjunctive 2?
subjunctive (werden) (just has an umlaut) + infinitive
or
umlauted (modal verb)
What is the difference between subjunctive 1 and 2?
Subjunctive 1 is used for “quoting” indirect speech (that is, when you’re directly paraphrasing something someone said but not formally quoting it).
Subjunctive 2 is for conditional/contrary to fact statements.
How do you form the passive voice?
werden + past participle
