Haben expresses possession and appears in many everyday expressions. It also works as an auxiliary in the Perfekt, but start with its present meaning.
The idea
The forms are ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt and sie/Sie haben. Notice the missing b in hast and hat. German says Ich habe Hunger and Ich habe Durst where English often uses an adjective with be. A noun object after haben is commonly accusative: Ich habe einen Hund.
| Person | Präsens |
|---|---|
| ich | habe |
| du | hast |
| er / sie / es | hat |
| wir | haben |
| ihr | habt |
| sie / Sie | haben |
Examples
- Ich habe eine Frage.
- Du hast Zeit.
- Sie hat einen Hund.
- Wir haben Hunger.
- Ihr habt heute frei.
- Haben Sie einen Termin?
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Watch out
Do not build hast as habst or hat as habt. Habt belongs to ihr. Learn hunger and thirst as complete expressions.
Try it yourself
Du ___ einen Stift.
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hast
The form for du is hast.
Wir ___ Durst.
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haben
With wir, use haben. The expression Durst haben means to be thirsty.
___ ihr morgen Zeit?
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Habt
The question begins with Habt because the subject is ihr.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Du ___ einen Stift.
Wir ___ Durst.
___ ihr morgen Zeit?
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Say one thing you own, one thing you need time for and whether you are hungry or thirsty. Then ask another person a question with haben.