Präsens.
The default tense.
One tense. Three uses. Präsens covers the present moment, habits that repeat, and the near future. It is where every German sentence starts.
The structure is simple
Take the infinitive, remove the -en, and add the personal ending. That is it for most verbs.
| Person | Ending | Example: lernen |
|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | ich lerne |
| du | -st | du lernst |
| er · sie · es | -t | er lernt |
| wir | -en | wir lernen |
| ihr | -t | ihr lernt |
| sie · Sie | -en | sie lernen |
The pattern repeats across thousands of verbs. Learn the endings once and they apply everywhere.
Use 1: what is happening now
The most obvious use. What is happening at this moment, right now.
- Ich lerneDeutsch. (I am learning German.)
- Sie arbeitet gerade. (She is working right now.)
- Es regnet. (It is raining.)
German does not have a separate progressive form like English "I am learning." The Präsens covers both "I learn" and "I am learning."
Use 2: habits and repeated actions
Anything that happens regularly, every day, every week, always.
- Er trinkt oft Kaffee. (He often drinks coffee.)
- Wir gehen häufig spazieren. (We often go for a walk.)
- Sie schläft immer früh. (She always goes to sleep early.)
Use 3: the near future
German uses Präsens for future plans when the time is already clear. No future tense needed. The time word does the work.
- Ich komme morgen. (I am coming tomorrow.)
- Wir fliegen nächste Woche nach Berlin. (We are flying to Berlin next week.)
- DasMeeting beginnt um 9 Uhr. (The meeting starts at 9.)
As long as the context makes the future clear, Präsens works. You do not need werden every time.
Watch out: strong verbs change the stem
Some common verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er · sie · es forms. These need to be learned individually, but the list is not long.
| Infinitive | du | er · sie · es |
|---|---|---|
| fahren | du fährst | er fährt |
| schlafen | du schläfst | sie schläft |
| lesen | du liest | er liest |
| sprechen | du sprichst | sie spricht |
| geben | du gibst | er gibt |
The stem changes only in the singular second and third person. All other forms follow the regular pattern.
Präsens is the foundation. Master the regular endings first, then learn the strong verb stems one by one. Everything else in German tense builds from here.