{"id":2620,"date":"2018-10-19T12:37:04","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T12:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=2620"},"modified":"2018-11-20T12:47:21","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T12:47:21","slug":"german-verb-sein-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/german-verb-sein-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"Conjugation of the German Verb \u201cSein\u201d: A Crash Course"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cSein<\/strong> oder Nichtsein<\/strong>, das ist hier die Frage\u201d (To be or not to be, that is the question<\/em>) \u2014 whether you\u2019re into Shakespeare or not, the famous line from Hamlet<\/em>, written in 1600 (or possibly 1602), is the perfect opener for today\u2019s topic: the conjugation of the German verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

This will not only come in handy when building all-important sentences in German, \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d also is used as a \u201chelping verb\u201d in combination with other verbs, such as the expression \u201cich bin gefahren<\/strong>\u201d (I have gone<\/em> or I have driven<\/em>), the present perfect tense form of the verb \u201cfahren<\/strong>\u201d<\/a> (to<\/em> travel, to go, to drive<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look at the conjugation of the German verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d!<\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Present Tense (Pr\u00e4senz<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich bin<\/strong><\/td>\nI am<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du bist<\/strong><\/td>\nyou are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es ist<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it is<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You will most likely notice that in the present tense, or Pr\u00e4senz<\/em>, forms of the verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d sound and look nothing like the infinitive of the verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d. Again, this is something you will simply have to learn by heart\u2026<\/p>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir sind<\/strong><\/td>\nwe are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr seid<\/strong><\/td>\nyou are
\n(as in: you guys are)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie sind<\/strong><\/td>\nthey are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Ich bin<\/strong> Daniels Schwester. \u2014 I am Daniel\u2019s sister<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ich bin<\/strong> mir nicht sicher, wann am Montag die Schule beginnt. \u2014 I am not sure what time school starts on Monday<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Er ist<\/strong> sehr stur. \u2014 He is very stubborn<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Bist du<\/strong> auch am Freitag mit dabei? \u2014 Are you going to be there on Friday as well?<\/em><\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Simple Past Tense (Imperfekt<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich war<\/strong><\/td>\nI was<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du warst<\/strong><\/td>\nyou were<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es war<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it was<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir waren<\/strong><\/td>\nwe were<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr wart<\/strong><\/td>\nyou were
\n(as in: you guys were)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie waren<\/strong><\/td>\nthey were<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Ich war<\/strong> bis Freitag in Berlin. \u2014 I was in Berlin until Friday. <\/em><\/p>\n

Sie waren<\/strong> mit dem Auto verreist. \u2014 They went on vacation by car<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Wir waren<\/strong> uns nicht sicher, oben eine gute Idee ist. \u2014 We weren\u2019t sure if it was a good idea<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Wart ihr<\/strong> schon einmal in M\u00fcnchen? \u2014 Have you been to Munich before?<\/em><\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Present Perfect Tense (Perfekt<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich bin gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nI was\/have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du bist gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nyou were\/have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es ist gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it was\/has been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir sind gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nwe were\/have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr seid gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nyou were\/have been
\n(as in: you guys were\/have been)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie sind gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nthey were\/have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Bist du<\/strong> heute morgen hier gewesen<\/strong>? Es war reines Chaos. \u2014 Have you been here this morning? It was pure chaos.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sie ist<\/strong> sehr freundlich gewesen<\/strong>. \u2014 She was very friendly.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich bin<\/strong> am Donnerstag im Museum gewesen<\/strong>. \u2014 I was at the museum on Thursday.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wir sind<\/strong> noch nie in Frankreich gewesen<\/strong>. \u2014 We have never been to France<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich war gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nI had been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du warst gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nyou had been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es war gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it had been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir waren gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nwe had been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr wart gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nyou had been
\n(as in: you guys had been)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie waren gewesen<\/strong><\/td>\nthey had been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Es war <\/strong>ein Heidenaufwand gewesen<\/strong>, die Feier zu organisieren. \u2014 It had been an ordeal to organize the party<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Er war<\/strong> nicht sehr freundlich zu uns gewesen<\/strong>. \u2014 He hadn\u2019t been very friendly to us<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Du warst<\/strong> damals noch sehr klein gewesen<\/strong>. \u2014 You had been very young at that time<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sie waren<\/strong> noch nie bei uns gewesen<\/strong>. \u2014 They had never stayed at our place before.<\/em><\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Future Tense (Futur<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

Unlike the English future tense, the German future tense (Futur<\/em>) is used much less often. Especially when it comes to the verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d, most Germans \u2014 instead of using the future tense \u2014 will just use an adverb of time instead.<\/p>\n

So instead of saying \u201cEr wird am Dienstag kommen\u201d, Germans would more likely say \u201cEr kommt am Dienstag\u201d, which uses the present tense and an adverb.<\/p>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich werde sein<\/strong><\/td>\nI will be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du wirst sein<\/strong><\/td>\nyou will be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es wird sein<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it will be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir werden sein<\/strong><\/td>\nwe will be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr werdet sein<\/strong><\/td>\nyou will be
\n(as in: you guys will be)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie werden sein<\/strong><\/td>\nthey will be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Ich werde<\/strong> bis dahin schon in Urlaub sein<\/strong>. \u2014 I will be on vacation already by that point<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sie werden<\/strong> dar\u00fcber sehr \u00fcberrascht sein<\/strong>. \u2014 They will be very surprised about that<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Es wird<\/strong> sicherlich ganz leicht sein<\/strong>. \u2014 It will surely be very easy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ihr werdet<\/strong> doch nicht schon losgegangen sein<\/strong>? \u2014 You haven\u2019t already left, have you?<\/em><\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Future Perfect (Futur II<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

When looking at the Futur II<\/em>, the future perfect tense, you will quickly realize it\u2019s an especially mean conglomerate of various versions of the verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d all muddled together in one tense.<\/p>\n

The good news is that the Futur II<\/em> is not used very often. Also, it is not overly hard to memorize, since the last part of the tense (\u201cgewesen sein<\/strong>\u201d) never really changes. Just give it a try!<\/p>\n

Again, the Futur II describes an action that takes place in the future, but will have already been finished by that point.<\/p>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich werde gewesen sein<\/strong><\/td>\nI will have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du wirst gewesen sein<\/strong><\/td>\nyou will have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es wird gewesen sein<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it will have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir werden gewesen sein<\/strong><\/td>\nwe will have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr werdet gewesen sein<\/strong><\/td>\nyou will have been
\n(as in: you guys will have been)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie werden gewesen sein<\/strong><\/td>\nthey will have been<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Es wird<\/strong> sicherlich nicht leicht f\u00fcr sie gewesen sein<\/strong>. \u2014 It surely won\u2019t have been easy for her<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ihr werdet<\/strong> bis dahin schon im Urlaub gewesen sein<\/strong>. \u2014 You guys will have been on vacation at that point<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Command forms of the German Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013\u00a0Imperativ<\/em><\/h2>\n

There are a couple command forms for the German verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d \u2014 usually, they are used in combination with other words.<\/p>\n

These combinations can look like the following:<\/p>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sei<\/strong> still! \/\u00a0<\/em>Sei<\/strong> leise! \u2014 Be quiet!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sei<\/strong> brav! \u2014 Be nice!<\/em> (This is something you would typically say to a small child or a dog.)<\/p>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seid<\/strong> still!\/Seid<\/strong> leise! \u2014 Be quiet (you guys)!<\/em><\/p>\n

Seid<\/strong> brav! \u2014 Be nice (you guys)!<\/em><\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

The subjunctive or Konjunktiv I<\/em> is a rather unpopular tense in Germany, because it sometimes tends to be a little difficult (even for Germans). The surprising thing about the subjunctive I? It\u2019s technically a mood, not a tense, and most often it is based on the infinite form of a verb.<\/p>\n

So where can you find the Konjunktiv I<\/em>? Most likely you will see it in newspaper articles, where it is used to express indirect speech (or in German: indirekte Rede<\/em>).<\/p>\n

However, indirekte Rede<\/em> can also be used in spoken language, such as if you are talking about a third person.<\/p>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich sei<\/strong><\/td>\nI am (said to be)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du sei(e)st<\/strong><\/td>\nyou are (said to be)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es sei<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it is (said to be)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir seien<\/strong><\/td>\nwe are (said to be)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr seiet<\/strong><\/td>\nyou are (said to be)
\n(as in: you guys are said to be)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie seien<\/strong><\/td>\nthey are said to be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Sie sagte mir Frau Meyer sei<\/strong> sehr streng. \u2014 She told me Mrs. Meyer was said to be very strict<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Er sagte mir, du seist<\/strong> ein L\u00fcgner. \u2014 He told me you were a liar<\/em>. (Or: He told me you were said to be a liar<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Es gab ein Ger\u00fccht in der Stadt, sie sei<\/strong> abgehauen. \u2014 There was rumor in town she had taken off<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Er wehrte sich gegen die Anschuldigungen, er sei<\/strong> ein Dieb. \u2014 He denied the accusations that he was a thief<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Conjugation of the Verb \u201cSein\u201d \u2013 Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

Unlike the Konjunktiv I<\/em>, which is used in indirect speech, the Konjunktiv II <\/em>expresses wishful thinking and situations that are contrary to reality. It is also used to express a polite request. While the German form of the subjunctive II (\u201cw\u00e4re<\/strong>\u201d) is very similar to the English equivalents such as \u201cIf I were you, I would not do that\u201d, the Konjunktiv II <\/em>is based off the German simple past tense (Imperfekt<\/em>).<\/p>\n

If you need a memory hook for this tense, the perfect opportunity comes in form of the song \u201cIch wollt\u2019 <\/em>ich<\/em><\/strong> w\u00e4r\u2019 ein Huhn<\/em>\u201d (\u201cI wish I was (or would be) a chicken<\/em>\u201d), performed by the all-male 1920s close harmony ensemble The Comedian Harmonists<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Singular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
ich w\u00e4re<\/strong><\/td>\nI would be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du w\u00e4rest<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/p>\n

you would be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

er\/sie\/es w\u00e4re<\/strong><\/td>\nhe\/she\/it would be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Plural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
wir w\u00e4ren<\/strong><\/td>\nwe would be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr w\u00e4rt<\/strong><\/td>\nyou would be
\n(as in: you guys would be)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sie w\u00e4ren<\/strong><\/td>\nthey would be<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Examples<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Es w\u00e4re<\/strong> sch\u00f6n, wenn du in Zukunft p\u00fcnktlich w\u00e4rst. \u2014 It would be nice if you were on time in the future<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Es w\u00e4re<\/strong> mir lieber, wenn er nicht dabei w\u00e4re. \u2014 I would prefer it if he wasn\u2019t there<\/em>.<\/p>\n

W\u00e4rst du<\/strong> so gut und sagst ihnen Bescheid? \u2014 Could you be so nice and let them know? <\/em><\/p>\n

Ich w\u00e4re<\/strong> jetzt lieber im Urlaub. \u2014 I would rather be on vacation right now.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since both of the subjunctive forms are mood and not tenses, they can be modified to be used in several tenses. Below you can find a couple examples of what this could look like:<\/p>\n

Ich w\u00e4re gewesen<\/strong> \u2014 I would have been<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich sei gewesen<\/strong> \u2014 I am said to have been<\/em><\/p>\n

Sie seien gewesen<\/strong> \u2014 they were said to have been<\/em><\/p>\n

While these are all part of various forms of the subjunctives, the chance that you will stumble upon them in day-to-day language is rather slim. They are mostly used in more formal settings or in written language.<\/p>\n

\n

I hope I could shed some light on the conjugation of the German verb \u201csein<\/strong>\u201d \u2014 as per usual, you can test your knowledge below!<\/p>\n

Until next time and viel Erfolg<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Challenge yourself with Clozemaster<\/h2>\n

Test your skills and see what you\u2019ve learned from this article by playing a selection of sentences with conjugated forms of the German verb \u201csein\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n