The German language has six different tenses (three past tenses, one present tense and two future tenses) to express actions over time. Thus, learning them is mandatory to master German successfully. Knowing the conjugations of the verb sein (to be) and the verb haben (to have), as well as the creation of the partizip II will help you a lot, as we need those verbs later.

The verb sein (to be) is one of the most important verbs, as many tenses are based on the conjugation of this verb.

The verb "haben" is as important as the verb to be, since it is used to construct tenses. Conjugating this verb is important for the construction of the tenses.

The "Präsens" (present simple) is a tense which is used to talk about present and future in German. This tense is equal to the English present simple and present progressive as well as the future with will or going to.



It can be simply build by conjugating the verb in the present tense. The conjugation of regular verbs in the present tense is very fundamental for many other grammatical topics. Irregular verbs may be different in the way they are conjugated. Thus, learning them as well as the conjugation pattern of regular verbs is useful. Some basic irregular verbs are:

1. haben
2. geben
3. essen
4. liegen
5. sprechen



The Perfekt (present perfect) is a very important past tense, as it is commonly used by natives to express things in the past. The focus of this past tense is on actions/things that are completed in the recent past. Although its grammatical definition, Germans use this tense to express everything in the past. This only applies in the spoken language!



The Perfekt is constructed by the conjugated verb of haben/sein + Partizip II.





Using the right verb is very important for the Perfekt. Only certain verbs are required to be build with the conjugated form of "sein".  

However, there is a simple rule which can be applied.



If you look at the passé Composé in French, you will see the same problem. Some words are conjugated with être (to be) meanwhile others with avoir (to have). In order to make life easier, there is a rule:



If something or someone is moving in terms of moving from a to b, we shall use être (to be). In every other scenario avoir (to have).



The same rule applies for the German language too.



If someone or something is in motion, we shall use the verb sein. If nothing is in motion, then we shall use the verb haben.



Example:



1. Er geht über die Straße. (He is crossing the road -> He is in motion -> perfekt with sein)
2. Marie liebt ihren Freund (Marie loves her boyfriend -> She isn't in motion-> perfekt with haben)

The partizip II (past participle) is generally formed according to following structure:



2.2.2.1 Regular Verbs

With regular verbs, you only need to determine the verb stem (Verbstamm).

After that you add ge as a prefix and t as a suffix.

1. lernen - ge+lern+t
2. kaufen - ge+kauf+t





2.2.2.2 Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are a bit more complex, but this will only scratch the surface.

A strong verb basically has ge as a preflix and en as suffix. Also the verb stem will be changed into the past simple and or the participle.

1. sehen - gesehen
2. laufen -ge+lauf+en



The Präteritum is equivalent to the simple past. Although its rare use in the spoken language, the Imperfekt is used in many writing situations. Thus, learning it is useful.

The Plusquamperfekt (PQP, past perfect tense) is used to express activities that took place before a certain point in time in the past. It is the German equivalent of the English past perfect tense. We use this tense in narratives together with the simple past to refer to something that happened before a past event.



However, this tense isn't commonly used in the spoken language as the Perfekt tense is used for express nearly every past action in the spoken language.



In order to master German, you should learn this tense too.

past of sein/past of haben + Partizip II

The Futur I is a future tense which describes actions, intentions and plans in the near future. Although the present tense is used for expressing things in the future, Futur I is also a huge part of the German language. It is comparable or equivalent to the English tenses present simple, will future (future simple) or going-to future.



The creation of this tense is incredibly simple:



It consists out of the conjugated form of werden and the infinitive verb form.



werden+ Infinitive



Remember: The infinitive form is mostly the last word.

The Futur II or the Vollendete Zukunft is a future tense which expresses a future action or an assumption in the future which has been completed at a determined point in the future.



We use this tense when...

1. ... we formulate assumptions about an past action
2. ... we describe an action that has already been completed by a specific point in the future

Example sentences:

1. Max ist müde. Er wird wohl wenig geschlafen haben.
2. Emma ist zu spät. Sie wird wohl ihren Bus verpasst haben.
3. Daniel verliert ständig Sachen. Vermutlich wird er morgen das Handy (= smartphone) verloren haben.

Explanation to 1)

Max ist müde. This sentence describes a current event, as Max is tired right now. The second sentence is the assumption based on the fact that Max is tired. Er wird wohl wenig geschlafen haben. We assume that he hadn't slept much. Thus, Futur II is needed.



Explanation to 2)

Emma ist zu spät. This clause describes a current event, as Emma is late right now. If we assume why she is late, we will use the Futur II to do so. Sie wird wohl ihren Bus verpasst haben. We assume that she failed to catch her bus.



Explaination to 3)

Based on our experiences with our imaginary friend Daniel, we can assume that he will lose his smartphone tomorrow. In that case, we do not refer to a current event with our assumption as we did in sentence 1) and 2). This time we use our experiences and assume a special action in the future. As our friend Daniel is quite unorganised, we can assume that he will be like that tomorrow. Thus, Futur II needed.