the Perfect Tense: Haben or Sein + Participle
1. weak verbs (thousands)
add ge to the beginning, then drop the en or n and add t to the end.
bauen - to build - gebaut
danken - to thank - gedankt
holen – to fetch - geholt
kaufen - to buy - gekauft.
machen - to make - gemacht
malen - to paint - gemalt
nutzen - to use - genutzt
sagen - to say, tell - gesagt
träumen - to dream - geträumt
The only exceptions to this rule is a group of weak verbs that end in -ieren.
These get the t but not the ge. In other respects these -ieren verbs are completely weak.
-ieren Verbs | meaning | participle |
studieren | to study | studiert |
diskutieren | to discuss | diskutiert |
informieren | to inform | informiert |
installieren | to install | installiert |
integrieren | to integrate | integriert |
realisieren | to realize/implement | realisiert |
fotografieren | to photograph | fotografiert |
markieren | to mark | markiert |
existieren | to exist | existiert |
interpretieren | to interpreate | interpretiert |
buchstabieren | to spell | buchstabiert |
etablieren | to establish | etabliert |
regieren – | to rule, govern | regiert |
jonglieren | to juggle | jongliert |
kaschieren | to conceal | Kaschiert |
2. Strong verbs (about 150)
take the ge- but keep their regular (–n or –en) infinitive ending, + often a vowel shift.
The participle is the third and last irregular form that you have to learn for each strong verb – the first two being the present-tense vowel shift (if any) and the past stem.
Strong verbs | present-past-participle | meaning | |
Type A | halten | hält, hielt, gehalten | to stop |
Type B | riechen | riecht, roch, gerochen | to smell |
Type C | helfen | hilft, half, geholfen | to help |
Notice that the vowel in the participle can match the infinitive (type A: halten/gehalten), the past (Type B: roch/gerochen) or neither (Type C: geholfen).
Please refer to a complete table of strong verbs at Verbs + Preposition / Weak, Strong & Mixed Verbs
3. Mixed verbs (9)
They are all of Type B, with the vowel in the participle matching the one in the past:
Mixed verbs /Type B | present-past-participle | meaning |
senden | sendet, sandte, gesandt | to send |
kennen | kennt, kannte, gekannt | to know (people) |
nennen | nennt, nannte, genannt | to name |
rennen | rennt, rannte, gerannt | to run |
brennen | brennt, brannte, gebrannt | to burn |
bringen | bringt, brachte, gebracht | to bring |
denken | denkt, dachte, gedacht | to think |
wenden | wendet, wandte, gewandt | to turn |
wissen | weiß, wusste, gewusst | to know (facts) |
4. verbs with prefix (weak, strong or mixed)
An inseparable prefix verb does not take the ge— prefix.
A separable prefix verb takes the ‘ge’ between the prefix and the main verb.
Inseparable verbs | bestelen bestellt | ich habe Kaffee bestellt, du hast Kaffee bestellt. |
separable verbs | aufmachen aufgemacht | ich habe die Flasche aufgemacht, du hast die Flasche aufgemacht. |
5. Overview
root verbs (no prefix) | inseparable prefix | separable prefix | |
weak verbs | ge + verb stem + t kaufen > gekauft | prefix + verb stem + t verkaufen > verkauft | prefix + ge + verb stem + t einkaufen > eingekauft |
weak –ieren verbs | verb stem + t fotografieren > fotografiert | prefix + verb stem + t missinterpretieren > missinterpretiert | prefix + verb stem + t anprobieren > anprobiert |
strong verbs | ge + irreg. stem + (e)n schreiben > geschrieben | prefix + irreg. stem + (e)n beginnen > hat begonnen | prefix + ge + irreg. stem + (e)n anbieten > hat angeboten (to offer) |
mixed verbs | ge + past stem + t denken > gedacht | prefix + past stem + t benennen > bennant (to be named) | prefix + ge + past stem + t auskennen > ausgekannt (to know) |
6. RECAP
Weak | Strong | Mixed |
Holen – to fetch kaufen - to buy machen - to make träumen - to dream nutzen - to use danken - to thank sagen - to say, tell malen - to paint bauen - to build | Helfen – to help tun - to do kommen - to come gehen - to go stehen - to stand schlafen - to sleep schreiben - to write sehen - to see essen - to eat | Denken – to think Brennen - to burn Bringen - to bring Kennen - to know Nennen - to name Rennen - to run Senden - to send Wenden - to turn Wissen - to know |
Weak verbs form the past tense with a hard consonant added at the end, t in German and d (or sometimes t) in English. Learn is a weak verb in both English (I learn, I learned [US] or learnt [UK]) and German (ich lerne, ich lernte)
Strong verbs form the past (preterite) tense with a vowel shift, like "swim / swam" in English (schwimmen / schwammen in German). Strong verbs in German have an irregular participle form that ends in –n, which is also true of many strong verbs in English (I choose, I chose, I have chosen).
For each strong verb, you have to learn by heart three irregular forms of tenses, namely the present tense vowel shift (if any), the past stem and the participle.
Strong verbs | present-past-participle | meaning | |
Type A | halten | hält, hielt, gehalten | to stop |
Type B | riechen | riecht, roch, gerochen | to smell |
Type C | helfen | hilft, half, geholfen | to help |
Mixed verbs form the past tense with both a vowel shift and a hard consonant sound at the end. Bring is a mixed verb in both English (I bring/I brought/I have brought) and German (Ich bringe/ Ich brachte/Ich habe gebracht)