Some frequent verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er, sie, es forms of the present tense.
The idea
Examples include lesen to liest, fahren to fährt and nehmen to nimmt. The ich, wir, ihr and sie plural forms generally keep the infinitive's stem vowel.
| Form / Muster | Beispiel / Gegensatz |
|---|---|
| lesen | du liest / er liest |
| fahren | du fährst / er fährt |
| nehmen | du nimmst / er nimmt |
| sprechen | du sprichst / er spricht |
Choose geschafft for managing a task and geschaffen for creating something, then understand ich bin geschafft and their shared present tense. German usage: schaffen: geschafft / geschaffen
Examples
- Du liest die Nachricht.
- Er fährt heute mit dem Rad.
- Sie nimmt den letzten Keks.
- Ich lese ein neues Buch.
- Wir fahren ans Meer.
- Ihr nehmt die Treppe.
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Watch out
Do not carry a du-form vowel change into every person. Compare du liest with wir lesen, and er trägt with wir tragen.
Try it yourself
Du ___ sehr schnell. (lesen)
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liest
Answer: “liest”. Check the subject: this verb changes its stem in du and er/sie/es, not generally in the plural.
Er ___ den roten Schal. (tragen)
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trägt
Answer: “trägt”. Check the subject: this verb changes its stem in du and er/sie/es, not generally in the plural.
Wir ___ am Sonntag. (fahren)
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fahren
Answer: “fahren”. Check the subject: this verb changes its stem in du and er/sie/es, not generally in the plural.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Du ___ sehr schnell. (lesen)
Er ___ den roten Schal. (tragen)
Wir ___ am Sonntag. (fahren)
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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Use “Du liest die Nachricht.” as a model and write versions with ich and wir. Check the stem vowel and every verb ending.