The everyday workhorse tense: The present tense (das Präsens) is the first tense you master in German. With a regular (weak) verb you do one simple thing: take the stem (the infinitive minus -en) and add a personal ending. machen → stem mach- → ich mache, du machst, er macht…. Most German verbs are regular, so this one pattern unlocks the majority of everyday sentences.
- 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. Watch two spelling helpers: if the stem ends in -t or -d (arbeiten, finden) you add an -e- before the -st/-t endings (du arbeitest, er arbeitet); if the 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. It covers habits and facts, what is happening right now, and — very often — the near future with a time word. 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.)
- Things that are generally true — «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 — 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 🔊 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: 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), and breaking the verb-second rule after a time word («Morgen ich gehe» instead of Morgen gehe ich). Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
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.