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    7th Week H.Apdf

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    7th Week H.Apdf

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    7th week H.Apdf

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    7th Week H.Apdf

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    of 7

    UNIT THREE

    Verb variations and irregular verbs

    Regular and irregular forms


    Most verbs in German follow a regular pattern where the ending is simply
    added to the stem of the verb. But there are some variations where the
    spelling is slightly different. There is also a group of irregular verbs where
    there are changes in the stem of the verb.

    Irregular forms in English


    In English there is also a difference between regular and irregular verbs, but
    it usually does not affect the present tense, except for ‘to be’ and ‘to have’.
    These verbs will be discussed in Unit 4.

    Spelling variations – an overview


    Stem endings in -d or -t
    There are some German verbs where the stem ends in -d or -t. It would be
    difficult to pronounce the -st endings for du and the t ending for er/sie/es and
    ihr if -st or -t was directly added to the stem. This is why an e is put before
    these endings:

    infinitive stem finite verb


    arbeiten arbeit du arbeitest to work
    kosten kost es kostet to cost
    reden red ihr redet to talk

    Verbs such as atmen and regnen


    Verbs such as atmen and regnen, where the stem ends in a consonant + n or m,
    also need the additional e:
    Unit 3 13

    infinitive stem finite verb


    atmen atm du atmest to breathe
    regnen regn es regnet to rain

    Examples:

    Du atmest sehr heftig. You’re breathing rather heavily.


    Herr Maier arbeitet bei Siemens. Mr Maier works for Siemens.
    Es regnet schon wieder! It’s raining again!
    Das Buch kostet 5 Euro. The book costs 5 euros.
    Ihr redet zu viel. You’re talking too much.

    Only du, er/sie/es and ihr are affected


    The extra e is added only with the endings for du, er/sie/es and ihr: it does not
    affect the other verb forms:

    ich arbeite wir arbeiten


    du arbeitest ihr arbeitet
    Sie arbeiten Sie arbeiten
    er/sie/es arbeitet sie arbeiten

    Stem endings in -s, -ss, -ß, -x, -z, -tz


    Normally the verb ending for du is st, but, if the verb stem ends in s, ss or ß,
    add a t as the verb ending for du:

    infinitive finite verb


    reisen du reist to travel
    küssen er küsst to kiss
    heißen du heißt to be called

    Examples:

    Reist du wieder nach Italien? Are you travelling to Italy again?


    Du heißt doch Frank, oder? You’re called Frank, aren’t you?
    Susi küsst gern. Susi likes kissing.

    For a few verbs where the stem ends in x, z or tz the same pattern applies:

    faxen du faxt to fax


    tanzen du tanzt to dance
    schwitzen du schwitzt to sweat
    14 Unit 3

    Irregular verbs with vowel changes


    There is a group of German verbs where the vowel in the stem changes in the
    present tense. These changes apply only in the du and er/sie/es forms. None of
    the other endings is affected. Here are examples in some frequently used
    verbs:

    infinitive finite verb


    schlafen er schläft to sleep
    essen sie isst to eat
    sprechen du sprichst to speak
    lesen du liest to read
    sehen er sieht to see

    Examples:

    Liest du gern Harry Potter? Do you like reading Harry Potter?


    Er sieht ein Fußballspiel. He is watching a football match.
    Sie isst gern Pizza. She likes eating pizza.
    Sprichst du Deutsch? Do you speak German?
    Sie schläft bis elf Uhr. She sleeps until eleven o’clock.

    Looking out for patterns


    These changes apply only to a limited number of verbs. It is best to learn
    these verbs by heart. There are also certain patterns which can help you
    predict how a verb changes. They are:

    a → ä
    e → i
    e → ie

    Here they are in more detail.

    Changes from a to ä
    Important verbs – apart from schlafen – which follow this pattern are:

    fahren → du fährst, er/sie/es fährt to drive


    halten du hältst, er/sie/es hält to hold, to stop
    tragen du trägst, er/sie/es trägt to carry
    waschen du wäschst, er/sie/es wäscht to wash
    Unit 3 15

    Examples:

    Du fährst morgen nach Hause. You’re going home tomorrow.


    Gleich fällt es runter! Any moment now it will fall
    (down)!
    Er trägt ein neues T-Shirt. He wears a new T-shirt.

    Changes from e to i
    You have seen that sprechen and essen are two prominent verbs which change
    their vowel from e to i. Other verbs which follow this pattern are:

    geben → du gibst, er/sie/es gibt to give


    helfen du hilfst, er/sie/es hilft to help
    treffen du triffst, er/sie/es trifft to meet
    werfen du wirfst, er/sie/es wirft to throw

    Examples:

    Er hilft Frau Maier. He helps Frau Maier.


    Triffst du heute Angelika? Are you meeting Angelika today?
    Er wirft den Ball zu Beckham. He throws the ball to Beckham.

    The verb nehmen also follows the e to i pattern, but it has greater spelling
    variations. Here are all forms:

    ich nehme wir nehmen


    du nimmst ihr nehmt
    Sie nehmen Sie nehmen
    er/sie/es nimmt sie nehmen

    Examples:

    Nimmst du Kaffee oder Tee? Do you take coffee or tea?


    Er nimmt ein heißes Bad. He is taking a hot bath.

    Changes from e to ie
    Some verbs such as sehen and lesen, where the e sound is pronounced long,
    change their vowel e into ie:

    sehen → du siehst, er/sie/es sieht to see


    lesen du liest, er/sie/es liest to read
    16 Unit 3

    Another important verb is empfehlen:

    empfehlen → du empfiehlst, er/sie/es empfiehlt to recommend

    Examples:

    Er sieht Jutta nicht. He doesn’t see Jutta.


    Sie empfiehlt Tee. She recommends tea.

    Where to look for irregular forms


    All verbs with a vowel change are irregular verbs. You will find a list of
    irregular verbs, often also called strong verbs, at the back of most course
    books and dictionaries, as well as at the back of this one. But beware: not all
    irregular verbs change their spelling in the present tense.

    Other irregular verbs

    There are also two other groups of verb forms which do not conform to the
    regular pattern in the present tense:
    • the verbs sein and haben ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ (see Unit 4)
    • the modal verbs (see Unit 18).

    Exercise 3.1
    Write out the full present tense of the following verbs (for all persons: ich, du,
    Sie, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, Sie, sie):

    1 arbeiten
    2 tanzen
    3 heißen
    4 reisen

    Exercise 3.2
    Here is a list of frequently used irregular verbs. Place a tick against the ones
    which change their vowel in the present tense and a cross against the ones
    which do not. The first two have been done for you. Use a verb list to check
    your answers.
    Unit 3 17

    bleiben  helfen schreiben stehen

    essen  kommen schwimmen tragen

    fahren nehmen sehen treffen

    geben lesen singen trinken

    gehen schlafen sprechen waschen

    Exercise 3.3
    Here is what Hans Homann, a young television presenter from Austria, says
    about himself. Use this information to write a short portrait of him. The first
    sentence has been done for you.

    1 Ich heiße Hans Homann. → Er heißt Hans Homann.


    2 Ich komme aus Wien.
    3 Ich arbeite für das Österreichische Fernsehen.
    4 Ich spreche natürlich Deutsch, aber auch Englisch und Spanisch.
    5 Ich lese gern Kriminalromane.
    6 Ich fahre auch gern Ski und schwimme viel.
    7 Ich sehe gern alte Filme mit Marlene Dietrich.
    8 Ich schlafe oft lange.
    9 Ich reise gern.
    10 Und ich helfe am Wochenende alten Leuten.

    Exercise 3.4
    Translate the following sentences into German:

    1 She reads a book.


    2 Peter speaks German and English.
    3 We speak German and Spanish.
    4 Magda likes eating pizza.
    5 I’ll have a beer, please.
    6 He has a beer.
    7 She is wearing a T-shirt.
    8 It is raining.
    18 Unit 3

    Checklist 

    1 Can you remember for which endings there is a stem vowel


    change?

    2 Can you identify when you need to use an additional e?

    3 What do you need to remember if the stem ends in an s


    sound?

    4 What are the most common stem vowel changes?

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