Questions tagged [irregular-verb]
The irregular-verb tag has no usage guidance.
18 questions
13
votes
3
answers
902
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How come there are two ways to conjugate the same verb? (e.g. erschrecken)
Take, for sake of concreteness, the verb erschrecken:
Du erschrickst vor Kakerlaken (du gerätst in Panik, wenn du Kakerlaken siehst)
to be compared with
Du erschreckst sie, wenn du trinkst.
...
- 30.9k
13
votes
1
answer
2k
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Warum "wurde" und nicht "ward"?
Heutzutage ist der Präteritumstamm von werden wurde. Früher war es ward.
Mir scheint, dass ward die eigentlich regelmäßige Ablautfolge ist (vgl. helfen, werfen).
Und doch ward es nicht mehr gesehen....
- 29.8k
13
votes
1
answer
979
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Is "wissen" the only verb in German to have an irregular present tense?
More precisely, apart from modal verbs, is "wissen" the only non-modal verb that uses the same form for the 1st and 3rd person singular in Präsens? I can't think of any other verb that does this and I ...
- 133
10
votes
2
answers
334
views
Wie erkärt sich die irreguläre Flexion von "gehen"?
Das unregelmäßige Verb "gehen" wird im Präsens wie folgt gebeugt:
ich gehe, du gehst, wir gehen
Nur als Partizip und als Nomen findet sich der Wortstamm "-gang-":
ich bin gegangen - der Gang, ...
- 70.6k
9
votes
3
answers
392
views
tragen trug getragen but beauftragen beauftragte beauftragt
Could a native German speaker explain to me why the following verbs are irregular
tragen trug getragen
betragen betrug betragen
auftragen trug auf aufgetragen
beitragen trug bei beigetragen
but ...
- 285
8
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Konjuntiv II vom Verb sterben: »ich stärbe« vs. »ich stürbe«
Ich habe mehrmals gelesen und mir immer gedacht, dass sich die Formen des Konjunktiv II an den Formen des Präteritum orientieren müssten.
Bei regelmäßigen Verben ist kein Unterschied zu merken. Zum ...
- 686
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Irregular Verbs in first and third person plural
For a regular German verb, the infinitive, first person plural and third person plural are the same - e.g. fahren; wir fahren; sie fahren.
For almost all of the common irregular verbs I've seen, this ...
- 211
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Semantic difference between regular and irregular 'backen'
Is there a difference in meaning between the preterite buk, from backen, and backte?
If so what is it?
Thanks
- 374
6
votes
2
answers
1k
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"Fehlen" weak, "empfehlen" strong. But "finden" and "empfinden" both strong. Cases when [some_verb] conjugates differently from [prefix+some_verb]?
Compare this pair:
finden - strong conjugation
empfinden - strong conjugation [exactly the same]
With this pair:
fehlen - weak conjugation
empfehlen - strong conjugation [different]
...
- 254
6
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Looking for ALL german verbs database
It could be plain text. I need to have there all verbs with all forms written down.
I'm afraid I can't use any web source, 'cause I want to create an application that will "read" sample german book ...
- 171
5
votes
3
answers
554
views
If a verb is irregular in one tense, will it also be irregular in all other tenses?
For example, if a verb is irregular in the present tense, will it then necessarily be irregular in the present perfect (end in "-en" rather than in "-t" and/or have its root ...
- 225
5
votes
1
answer
178
views
Darf "mahlen" ein regelmäßiges Verb genannt werden?
Da das Verb "mahlen" keine Vokaländerung durchmacht, warum ist es nicht regelmäßig? Und wenn es doch regelmäßig ist, warum ist sein Partizip dann "gemahlen" und nicht einfach "...
- 686
5
votes
2
answers
252
views
Is there a reason for the inconsistent use of "-d" and "-t" in the 2nd plural form of "sein"?
This may have been asked before because it seems like something I would have wondered, had I ever learned German via textbook. But I couldn't find it, so I'm asking. Also, I am not sure if such a ...
- 153
4
votes
1
answer
211
views
Non-natives using strong verbs as they were weak: would this compromise understanding?
Forgetting for a moment about the stated fact that language evolves, would Germans be annoyed if a strong verb was used as it were weak (that is, with the common -te pattern in the past tense and the ...
- 1,999
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Most common Präteritum / Imperfekt forms in written German?
I have a German examination in two weeks, which includes two comprehensions of about CEFR-B1 level. (An example of this exam from 2012 can be found here.)
I have worked up to over 2000 of the most ...
- 133
3
votes
1
answer
160
views
Is "erinnern" irregular?
I learned that most infinitives end in -en, with the exception of irregulars like sein. Is the verb erinnern (to remind) also irregular? Are there any other verbs whose infinitive ends in -ern? If so, ...
- 1,799
2
votes
1
answer
313
views
Why do irregular verb lists not show present tense changes?
In most lists of irregular verbs, in particular the list in my Langenscheidt's dictionary, the list contains the infinitive, the past tense, and the past participle forms to show the irregularity. ...
- 121
1
vote
1
answer
138
views
Is there a Name for the Change of Vowels in German (Umlaute but also Contractions)?
I often found the change of sounds (vowel to Umlaut or contractions in general, like from the sound ei to ie) of certain irregular verbs, or plurals hard to remember. Also, sometimes I got confused ...
- 71