{"id":11708,"date":"2020-05-18T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T06:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11708"},"modified":"2020-05-19T12:16:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T12:16:56","slug":"the-german-verb-sein-to-be-3-tenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-german-verb-sein-to-be-3-tenses\/","title":{"rendered":"The German Verb Sein – To Be (3 Tenses)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! If you\u2019re a fairly new German learner, this post will benefit you as it covers one of the basics of the language. If you\u2019re not new to the language, it\u2019s still a good idea to revisit the basics from time to time! Today we\u2019re looking at the verb sein<\/strong> (to be) and its conjugations in the past, present and future tense (note: there are more tenses than those mentioned in this post, but for the sake of keeping things simple, I am only covering these three today).<\/p>\n

sein \u2013 to be.<\/h2>\n
\"\"

sein – to be. image via pixabay.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sein is an irregular German verb, which means its conjugation doesn\u2019t follow a typical pattern. In other words, although the verb is \u2018sein\u2019,<\/strong> when conjugated it becomes \u2018bin\u2019<\/strong> or \u2018ist\u2019<\/strong>, for instance.<\/p>\n

sein – present tense<\/h3>\n

ich bin<\/strong> \u2013 I am
\ndu bist<\/strong> \u2013 you are (informal; when addressing just 1 person)
\ner\/sie\/es ist<\/strong> \u2013 he\/she\/it is
\nwir sind<\/strong> \u2013 we are
\nihr seid<\/strong> \u2013 you are (when addressing more than 1 person)
\nsie sind<\/strong> \u2013 they are
\nSie sind<\/strong> \u2013 you are (formal).<\/p>\n

Note the capital letter on Sie<\/strong> vs. the lower-case letter on the previous (sie sind<\/strong> \u2013 they are). This capital letter tells you whether the meaning is \u2018they are\u2019 or the formal \u2018you are\u2019. Bear in mind, however, that if Sie<\/strong> is at the beginning of a sentence, it will always be capitalised. In this case, you can figure it out based on the context! If you\u2019re not familiar with the two ways of saying \u2018you\u2019 in German (formal\/informal), click here\u00a0 <\/a>, <\/a>or here, <\/a>or here <\/a>to read more on this subject.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The verb in action:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Du bist<\/strong> so lustig!
\nYou are so funny!<\/p>\n

Ich bin<\/strong> so b\u00f6se.
\nI am so angry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*<\/p>\n

Here is the conjugation of sein<\/strong> in the simple past tense. Notice how the same rules apply for the capitalisation of Sie waren<\/strong> (you were \u2013 formal) vs. the lower-case sie waren<\/strong> (they were). Also remember that the verb is irregular, so it does not look like the root, sein.<\/strong><\/p>\n

sein – past tense<\/h3>\n

ich war<\/strong> \u2013 I was
\ndu warst<\/strong> \u2013 you were (informal; when addressing just 1 person)
\ner\/sie\/es war<\/strong> \u2013 he\/she\/it was
\nwir waren<\/strong> \u2013 we were
\nihr wart<\/strong> \u2013 you were (when addressing more than 1 person)
\nsie waren<\/strong> \u2013 they were
\nSie waren<\/strong> \u2013 you were (formal).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The verb in action:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ihr wart<\/strong> so lustig!
\nYou were (all) so funny!<\/p>\n

Er war<\/strong> so b\u00f6se.
\nHe was so angry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*<\/p>\n

Here is the conjugation of sein in the future tense. Notice how, this time, \u2018sein\u2019 is part of the conjugation.<\/p>\n

sein – future tense<\/h3>\n

ich werde sein<\/strong> \u2013 I will be
\ndu wirst sein<\/strong> \u2013 you will be (informal; when addressing just 1 person)
\ner\/sie\/es wird sein<\/strong> \u2013 he\/she\/it will be
\nwir werden sein<\/strong> \u2013 we will be
\nihr werdet sein<\/strong> \u2013 you will be (when addressing more than 1 person)
\nsie werden sein<\/strong> \u2013 they will be
\nSie werden sein<\/strong> \u2013 you will be (formal).<\/p>\n

When conjugating this tense, the word \u2018sein\u2019 goes to the end of the sentence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The verb in action:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Es wird<\/strong> so lustig sein<\/strong>!
\nIt will be really funny!<\/p>\n

Sie werden<\/strong> so b\u00f6se sein<\/strong>.
\nThey will be so angry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*<\/p>\n

To finish, an exercise!<\/strong> See if you can translate these sentences using the verb conjugations above. They all use the adjective gl\u00fccklich – happy.<\/strong> The answers will be at the very end of this post, underneath the newsletter box. Viel Gl\u00fcck (good luck)!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. ich bin gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    2. wir sind gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    3. er ist gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    4. Sie sind gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    5. sie waren gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    6. \u00a0du warst gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    7. \u00a0ihr wart gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    8. \u00a0ich war gl\u00fccklich<\/li>\n
    9. \u00a0ich werde gl\u00fccklich sein<\/li>\n
    10. \u00a0du wirst gl\u00fccklich sein<\/li>\n
    11. wir werden gl\u00fccklich sein<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      ANSWERS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      1\/ I am happy
      \n2\/ we are happy
      \n3\/ he is happy
      \n4\/ you are happy (formal)
      \n5\/ they were happy
      \n6\/ you were happy (1 person only)
      \n7\/ you were happy (addressing more than 1 person)
      \n8\/ I was happy
      \n9\/ I will be happy
      \n10\/ you will be happy (1 person only)
      \n11\/ we will be happy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

      Guten Tag! If you\u2019re a fairly new German learner, this post will benefit you as it covers one of the basics of the language. If you\u2019re not new to the language, it\u2019s still a good idea to revisit the basics from time to time! Today we\u2019re looking at the verb sein (to be) and its…<\/p>\n

      Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":11724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[11971,8],"tags":[168698,24397,51,95131,6,376023,130,238399,2564,2574,165],"class_list":["post-11708","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar-language","category-language","tag-basics","tag-beginners","tag-conjugation","tag-german-language","tag-grammar","tag-language","tag-quiz","tag-sein","tag-test","tag-to-be","tag-verb"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t