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German verbsSummary of German verb tenses, voices, & moodsBasic tenses | Passive voice tenses | Subjunctive II tenses | Subjunctive II passive voice tensesSubjunctive I tenses | Subjunctive I passive voice tenses | Imperative mood | GRAMMAR INDEX There are 6 basic verb tenses in German. There are two simple verb tenses, which are formed using only the verb or its root or a derivative: the present tense and the simple past tense. The other four verb tenses -- the future tense, the present perfect tense, the past perfect tense, and the future perfect tense, are compound tenses, meaning that they are formed using a helping verb + the verb's infinitive or past participle. In the tables below, forms of the main verb are coded in blue and helping verbs are in orange. When used in a sentence, either the verb itself or, in the case of compound tenses, the helping verb will be conjugated to agree with the subject of the sentence. This conjugated verb is called the finite verb. German also has 2 voices: the active voice and the passive voice. A change in voice allows the subject of a sentence to become the object and vice versa. Each voice has a parallel form for each of the 6 verb tenses. German verbs also have 3 moods: the indicative mood , the subjunctive mood, and the imperative mood. Moods express the speaker's attitude toward what s/he is saying. While the indicative mood uses all 6 verb tenses, the subjunctive uses only 4 verb tenses, and the imperative has only 1 form. Indicative mood, Active voiceThe indicative mood, active voice verb tenses are the ones you will learn first and that are used most frequently in German. When people talk about the "present tense" or "perfect tense" without any other distinction, they are referring to the indicative mood, active voice forms. The indicative mood is used in most statements and questions. The active voice places focus on the action of the sentence and who or what is carrying out the action.
Indicative mood, Passive voiceThe passive voice shifts the focus of the sentence from the subject of the action to the object of the action. The object of a sentence in the active voice becomes the subject of the sentence in the passive voice:ACTIVE: He saw me.The passive voice is by definition created with the helping verb werden. This helping verb is used in addition to any other helping verbs a tense might use.
Subjunctive I tenses | Subjunctive I passive voice tenses | Imperative mood | GRAMMAR INDEX Subjunctive (II) mood, Active voiceWhile the indicative mood relates fact, the subjunctive mood conveys possibility, states an unreal condition, or expresses a wish, and it is also used for indirect speech.INDICATIVE: He is taking a trip when he has the money.The future tense subjunctive is often used as an alternative to the present tense subjunctive, particularly in conversational German. The future perfect may also be used as an alternative to the past subjunctive. Note that the English equivalents are the same for these pairs of tenses. Subjunctive (II) mood, Passive voiceThe passive voice is by definition created with the helping verb werden. This helping verb is used in addition to any other helping verbs a tense might use.As with the active voice of the subjunctive mood, in the passive voice the future tense subjunctive may substitute for the present tense subjunctive, and the future perfect tense may substitute for the past subjunctive. Note that the English equivalents are the same for these pairs of tenses. Subjunctive I tenses | Subjunctive I passive voice tenses | Imperative mood | GRAMMAR INDEX Subjunctive (I) mood, Active voiceThe forms of subjunctive I parallel the subjunctive II forms. Subjunctive I is used primarily for reporting indirect speech. However, in the instances where subjunctive I is identical to the indicative form (indicated below in purple), subjunctive II is typically substituted to avoid confusion. English has no similar special form for reporting indirect speech.
Subjunctive (I) mood, Passive voiceThe passive voice is by definition created with the helping verb werden. This helping verb is used in addition to any other helping verbs a tense might use. Again, the instances where subjunctive I is identical to the indicative form are indicated in purple. In these cases, the subjunctive I is normally replaced with the equivalent subjunctive II form to avoid confusion.
Subjunctive I tenses | Subjunctive I passive voice tenses | Imperative mood | GRAMMAR INDEX Imperative moodThe imperative mood is used to express a command. There are only 4 forms of the imperative mood. To determine which one to use, the speaker need only consider whether to address those with whom s/he is speaking with Sie, ihr, or du, or whether to include him/herself by using the collective 1st person wir.
Subjunctive I tenses | Subjunctive I passive voice tenses | Imperative mood | GRAMMAR INDEX  All content on this site is copyrighted. © 2004- VISTAWIDE.COM Contact - About us |