German Verbs

Welcome to the 10th lesson about verbs in German. We will first learn about the present tense, followed by the past tense, and future tense. We will also analyze some grammar rules, and finally practice how to ask for direction in German.

Verbs are used to express an action (I swim) or a state of being (I am). The present tense in German conveys a situation or event in the present time. Here are some examples:

Present Tense - German
I speak English Ich spreche Englisch
you speak French Sie sprechen Französisch
he speaks German Er spricht Deutsch.
she speaks Italian Sie spricht Italienisch
we speak Arabic Wir sprechen Arabisch
they speak Chinese Sie sprechen Chinesisch

The past tense in German conveys a situation or event in the past time. Here are some examples:

Past Tense - German
I visited France Ich bereiste Frankreich
you visited Italy Sie bereisten Italien
he visited Morocco Er bereiste Marokko
she visited China Sie bereiste China
we visited Mexico Wir bereisten Mexiko
they visited Kenya Sie bereisten Kenia

The future tense in German conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:

Future Tense - German
I will drink milk Ich werde Milch trinken
you will drink coffee Sie werden Kaffee trinken.
he will drink tea Er wird Tee trinken.
she will drink water Sie wird Wasser trinken.
we will drink apple juice Wir werden Apfelsaft trinken
they will drink tea Sie werden Tee trinken

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.

ear Ohr

eye Auge

mouth Mund

nose Nase

hair Haar

face Gesicht

head Kopf

heart Herz

hand Hand

fingers Finger

leg Bein

feet Füße

Travel Phrases in German

Imagine yourself in some German speaking country. The following travel phrases are highly important and can help you avoid misunderstanding. Try to memorize them and practice!

English - German
Can you help me? Können Sie mir helfen?
Can I help you? Kann ich Ihnen helfen?
Where is the airport? Wo ist der Flughafen?
Go straight Gehen Sie geradeaus.
Then Dann
Turn left Links abbiegen
Turn right Rechts abbiegen

I hope this lesson about the verbs in German was not hard for you. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.