Verbs Flashcards
what letter do German infinitives always finish with?
N - e.g.
kaufen - to buy
sein - to be
what are the 5 main groups of German verbs?
- Auxiliary
- Modal
- Weak
- Strong
- Mixed
what are auxiliary verbs?
Auxiliary (“helping”) verbs are used with other verbs to form compound tenses, like the future tense in English (I will find it) and German (Ich werde es finden)
- sein / to be
- haben / to have
- werden / to wiil
Translate auxilliary verb “to be”
sein
Translate auxilliary verb “to have”
haben
Translate auxilliary verb “will/would”
werden
what are modal verbs?
Modal verbs are used with other verbs to indicate their modality, which means the desire, ability, permission or obligation to do them: “You must listen to me!” (“Du musst mir zuhören!”)
- dürfen - may
- können - can
- mögen - to like (to)
- müssen - must
- sollen - should
- wollen - to want to
Translate modal verb “may”
durfen
Translate modal verb “can”
können
Translate modal verb “to like (to)”
mögen
Translate modal verb “must”
müssen
Translate modal verb “should”
sollen
Translate modal verb “to want to”
wollen
what are weak verbs?
Weak verbs form the past tense with a hard consonant added at the end, t in German and d (or sometimes t) in English.
Learn is a weak verb in both English (I learn, or learnt and German (ich lerne, ich lernte).
N.B. Weak verbs are all regular.
what are strong verbs?
Strong verbs form the past (preterite) tense with a vowel shift, like “swim / swam” in English (schwimmen / schwammen in German).
Strong verbs in German have an irregular participle form that ends in –n, which is also true of many strong verbs in English (I choose, I chose, I have chosen).
N.B. Strong verbs are all irregular.
what are mixed verbs?
Mixed verbs get their name because they form the past tense with both a vowel shift and a hard consonant sound at the end. Bring is a mixed verb in both English (we bring/we brought) and German (wir bringen/wir brachten)
What is meant by tense?
A verb’s tense has to do with the time of the action.
e.g in English
Present
he does it
Preterite (“simple past”)
he did it
Perfect
he has done it
_Past Perfect (“pluperfect”)_ he had done it
Future
he will do it
Future Perfect
he will have done it
What is meant by mood ?
Mood has to do with the reality of the action.
e.g. in English:
Indicative
he does it
Conditional
he would do it
Imperative
Do it!
Explain the Futur I tense.
The Futur I tense is similar to our future tense; it uses werden the same way we use “will” in English: “I will read it” –> Ich werde es lesen.
Explain The Indikativ/Indicative mood.
Used for describing reality: things that have actually happened, are happening or are expected to happen.
Explain The Konjunktiv I mood.
Serves to distance the writer from indirect or reported speech: according to his spokesman, he knows nothing about the scandal.
Explain the Konjunktiv II mood.
The Konjunktiv II is similar to the conditional mood in English. It expresses hypothetical and/or conditional actions, and it usually uses a form of werden in the same way that we use “would” (“I wouldn’t do that” –> Ich würde das nicht tun).
Explain the Imperativ/Imperative mood.
The Imperativ/Imperative mood is used for commands “Go away!”; “Clean your room!”
Explain the Präsens tense.
The Präsens corresponds to the simple present tense in English (“I take the bus”) as well as the “emphatic” (“I do take the bus”). It can also be used to refer to future events.
