The idea
Present tense: ich esse, du isst, er/sie/es isst, wir essen, ihr esst, sie/Sie essen. Learn the sentence pattern etwas essen together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | esse |
| du | isst |
| er/sie/es | isst |
| wir | essen |
| ihr | esst |
| sie/Sie | essen |
| Präteritum | aß |
| Perfekt | hat gegessen |
| Imperativ (du) | Iss! |
| Muster | etwas essen |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Essen changes e to i in du isst and er isst. Isst has the same pronunciation as ist but a different spelling and meaning.
Learn this pattern as a unit: etwas essen. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Du esst einen Apfel.Du isst einen Apfel.Use isst for du; esst belongs to ihr.
Examples
- Ich esse vor der langen Sitzung eine Kleinigkeit.I eat a little something before the long meeting.
- Du isst die Suppe am besten noch warm.It is best to eat the soup while it is still warm.
- Unser Gast isst kein Fleisch.Our guest does not eat meat.
- Gestern aßen wir draußen unter dem Vordach.Yesterday we ate outside under the canopy.
- Die Gruppe hat schon im Zug gegessen.The group has already eaten on the train.
- Iss langsam, wir haben noch genug Zeit.Eat slowly; we still have enough time.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
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Watch out
Use isst for du; esst belongs to ihr.
Try it yourself
du ___ (essen, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
isst
isst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (essen, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
aß
aß: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
gegessen
gegessen: in this use the perfect tense is hat gegessen.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (essen, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (essen, Präteritum)
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
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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Read the six situations aloud, compare the verb forms, and complete the present, past and participle checks. Then write a new sentence that follows etwas essen.