German
Strong and weak German verbs
German verbs fall into two families: weak verbs, which are regular and predictable, and strong verbs, which change their stem vowel in the past and often the participle. Knowing which is which tells you exactly where you can rely on rules and where memorising is unavoidable.
Two families
German verbs split into weak (regular, predictable) and strong (they change the stem vowel). Knowing which is which tells you where rules hold and where memorising is unavoidable.
Weakrule-based
- keeps the stem
- machen → machte, gemacht
- -te past, ge-…-t participle
Strongmemorise
- the vowel shifts
- singen → sang, gesungen
- -en participle
Strong verbs by example
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| singen | sang | gesungen |
| fahren | fuhr | gefahren |
| sprechen | sprach | gesprochen |
They fall into rough families (sing, sang, sung), but no rule predicts them reliably.
Many change in the present too
A subset of strong verbs also shifts vowel in the du and er present forms, so their singular present is a second thing to watch.
fahren → du fährst, er fährta becomes ä
geben → du gibst, er gibte becomes i
lesen → du liest, er lieste becomes ie
The mixed verbs
A small group is mixed: it changes the vowel like a strong verb but takes weak endings. bringen → brachte, gebracht; denken → dachte, gedacht; kennen → kannte, gekannt. Few, but common enough to learn as a set.
Weak verbs you can generate by rule, so spend your memory on the strong and mixed ones, the forms no rule derives. Verboteca puts each irregular form on its own card, concentrating practice on the vowel changes rules will never give you.