Intermediate German: A Grammar and Workbook

UNIT TEN

Unit 10 The present tense

The present tense in German

The present tense in German is mainly used:

• to refer to events that are happening at the present time:
  Peter trinkt ein Bier.
  Peter is drinking beer.


• to describe habitual actions and general statements:
  Sonntags treffen wir unsere Freunde.
  On Sundays, we meet our friends.
  Die Erde dreht sich um die Sonne.
  The earth revolves around the sun.

In addition, the present tense in German often refers to the futurewhen

the context makes this clear:

Morgen fährt sie nach München.

Tomorrow, she will go to Munich.

There is only one present tense form in German

Note that German has only one present tense form, which corresponds

to all three forms (the simple present, the progressive presentand the

emphatic present) that exist in English:

‘I work’ (simple present)

Ich arbeite = ‘I am working’ (progressive present)

‘I do work’ (emphatic present)

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