2

The two different German teachers I have had have differing ideas about the correct conjugation of some verbs in the 2nd person plural, but I am not clear about which is "more correct" or when to use each form.

For example, ihr fahrt or ihr fährt? Ihr lauft or ihr läuft? Ihr schlaft or ihr schläft?

One teacher suggested that the former forms are more literary or formal, but is there a preference in everyday speech or writing? I would prefer my verbs not to be any more irregular than they absolutely must be.

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    There is no common rule on how verbs are conjugated to 2nd person plural - You need to learn them separately. Very typically, the answer is "no", so, all of your umlaut examples are, unfortunately, wrong.
    – tofro
    Feb 20, 2018 at 16:40

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
6

Ihr lauft is the only correct form, see for example this conjugation table. Same goes for ihr schlaft.

However, in spoken German you may hear ihr läuft. The reason could be the influence of local dialects.

Improve this answer
3
  • Or spoken „ihr laufed“, or.... dialect tends to creep in with irregular verbs.
    – Stephie
    Feb 20, 2018 at 17:08
  • Ihr läuft die Zeit davon. 3rd person.
    – Janka
    Feb 21, 2018 at 0:25
  • Also dative instead of nominative.
    – RHa
    Feb 21, 2018 at 9:48

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.