Other spelling variations
- When the stem ends in either -d,-t,-mand-nan additional letter -e
is added between the stem and the personal endings of du,er/sie/es
andihr.
Infinitive Stem Finite verb
arbeiten → arbeit du arbeitest you work
finden find er findet he finds
regnen regn es regnet it rains
atmen atm ihr atmet you breathe- Verbs whose stem ends in -s, -ß, -x,-zonly add the letter -tin the du
form and not -st:
Infinitive Stem Finite verb
reisen → reis du reist you travel
beißen beiß du beißt you bite
tanzen tanz du tanzt you dance- Verbs which end in -ernsuch as wandern‘to hike’,ändern‘to change’
only add -nto the stem of the Sie,wirand plural sieverb forms:
ich wandere wir wandern
du wanderst ihr wandert
Sie wandern Sie wandern
er/sie/es wandert sie wandern - In the ichform verbs ending in -elnsuch as sammeln‘to collect’, lächeln
‘to smile’ drop the letter -ebefore the -l:
Ich handle mit Computersoftware.
I trade in computer software.
Ich sammle alte Autos.
I collect old cars.- For a list of modal verbs in the present tense, see Unit 7.
- For more information on separable verbs in the present tense,
see Unit 8. - For the use of the present tense referring to the future, see
Unit 14.
78 Unit 10: The present tense