A1Tenses

German Present Tense (Präsens)

The present tense in German is used for current actions, habits, and future events. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns.

Key Rules

  1. 1Remove -en from infinitive to get the stem
  2. 2Add endings: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en
  3. 3Used for present actions, habits, and near future
  4. 4Stem-vowel changes in some strong verbs (e→i, a→ä)

Examples

Ich spiele Fußball.

I play football.

Regular verb: spiel- (stem) + -e (ich ending).

Du sprichst Deutsch.

You speak German.

Stem vowel change: e→i (sprechen → sprichst).

Related Grammar Topics

Tenses

German Simple Past Tense (Präteritum)
B1

Tenses

German Perfect Tense (Perfekt)
A2
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