The everyday workhorse tense: The present tense (das Präsens) is the first tense you master in German. Most German verbs are regular, so one pattern unlocks most everyday sentences.
Regular (weak) verb in one step
1
Take the stem
The infinitive minus -en: machen → mach-.
2
Add a personal ending
ich mache, du machst, er macht…
Infinitive → stem → stem + ending
- das Präsens
- the present tense
- der Infinitiv
- the infinitive — the dictionary form (machen, wohnen, spielen)
- der Verbstamm
- the stem — the infinitive minus -en (mach-, wohn-, spiel-)
- die Endung
- the ending — added to the stem (-e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en)
- regelmäßig / schwach
- regular / weak — the verb follows the standard pattern, the stem does not change
- die Personalform
- the personal form — the conjugated verb that matches its subject
Why it carries the marks: Almost every reading text, listening clip and written answer at SL uses the present. Getting the ending right (and putting the verb in second position) is core Criterion A (Language) accuracy — examiners notice a wrong ending immediately. Learn the six endings once and reuse them on hundreds of verbs.
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Six endings, one pattern: Drop the -en from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the ending for each person. The endings are always -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en.
Two spelling helpers
- Stem ends in -t or -d (arbeiten, finden): add an -e- before the -st/-t endings (du arbeitest, er arbeitet).
- Stem ends in -s, -ß or -z (reisen, heißen, tanzen): the du form takes just -t (du reist, du heißt, du tanzt).
| Person | machen (to do/make) | wohnen (to live) | arbeiten (-t stem) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | mache | wohne | arbeite |
| du | machst | wohnst | arbeitest |
| er / sie / es | macht | wohnt | arbeitet |
| wir | machen | wohnen | arbeiten |
| ihr | macht | wohnt | arbeitet |
| sie / Sie | machen | wohnen | arbeiten |
Spot the look-alikes: Three forms share an ending, so read the subject to tell them apart: er/sie/es and ihr both take -t (er macht / ihr macht); wir, sie (they) and the polite Sie all take -en (wir machen / sie machen / Sie machen). The extra -e- in du arbeitest / er arbeitet keeps the word pronounceable — never write du arbeitst.
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More jobs than English present: German uses the present for more situations than English does.
What the present covers
- Habits and facts.
- What is happening right now.
- Very often, the near future with a time word.
No -ing form: There is no separate -ing form: Ich spiele jetzt Tennis means both I play and I am playing.
Uses of the present (regular verbs)
- Habits & routines — Ich lerne jeden Tag Deutsch. (I study German every day.)
- General facts — Wien liegt in Österreich. (Vienna is in Austria.)
- Actions happening now — Sie kocht gerade das Abendessen. (She is cooking dinner right now.)
- Near-future plans (with a time word) — Morgen besuche ich meine Großeltern. (Tomorrow I am visiting my grandparents.)
- Something that started in the past and is still going on (seit + present) — Wir wohnen seit zehn Jahren hier. (We have lived here for ten years.)
Verb in second position: In a German main clause the conjugated verb is the second element (the V2 rule). If you start with a time word, the verb still comes second and the subject moves after it: Morgen besuche ich meine Großeltern — not Morgen ich besuche. Keep the regular ending on the verb wherever it lands.
A day told with regular verbs: Here is a short everyday paragraph built one sentence at a time. Each sentence uses regular (weak) present verbs.
How to read it
- Note the endings change with the subject (wohne, mache, lerne, arbeite, spielen, hören, kaufe, koche).
- Read it once for meaning.
- Then tap Übersetzung anzeigen for the English or the audio button to hear it.
IB-style task — das Präsens in Aktion
Ein Tag, Satz für Satz
- Ich heiße Lena und ich wohne in einem kleinen Dorf in Österreich.
- Jeden Morgen mache ich Frühstück und dann lerne ich für die Schule.
- Am Nachmittag arbeite ich zwei Stunden in der Bäckerei meiner Tante.
- Meine Freundin und ich spielen oft Tennis und danach hören wir Musik.
- Am Wochenende kaufe ich frisches Gemüse auf dem Markt und koche für meine Familie.
Steal this for your routine: Notice how few patterns you need: pick high-frequency regular verbs (wohnen, machen, lernen, arbeiten, spielen, hören, kaufen, kochen), add the right ending, and you can describe a whole day. Swap in your own activities and you have a ready-made paragraph for the oral or a writing task.
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The slips to watch for: Three mistakes dominate. Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
The three slips
- Using the wrong ending for the subject: du macht instead of du machst.
- Forgetting the extra -e- after a -t/-d stem: du arbeitst instead of du arbeitest.
- Breaking the verb-second rule after a time word: Morgen ich gehe instead of Morgen gehe ich.
Richtig
- Du machst deine Hausaufgaben.
- Du arbeitest am Samstag.
- Heute lerne ich Deutsch.
Häufiger Fehler
- Du macht deine Hausaufgaben.
- Du arbeitst am Samstag.
- Heute ich lerne Deutsch.
Ask: which subject, and what does the stem end in?: Before you write a regular verb, do two quick checks. 1. Match the ending to the subject (-e ich, -st du, -t er/ihr, -en wir/sie/Sie). 2. If the stem ends in -t or -d, add -e- before -st/-t (arbeitest, findet). And if a time word opens the sentence, keep the verb second.