{"id":3057,"date":"2011-12-12T14:30:54","date_gmt":"2011-12-12T14:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=3057"},"modified":"2011-12-01T10:02:41","modified_gmt":"2011-12-01T10:02:41","slug":"german-tenses-in-use-prasens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-tenses-in-use-prasens\/","title":{"rendered":"German tenses in use: Pr\u00e4sens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The German language has six tenses: Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong>, Pr\u00e4teritum<\/em><\/strong>, Perfekt<\/em><\/strong>, Plusquamperfekt<\/em><\/strong>, Futur I<\/em><\/strong>, and Futur II<\/em><\/strong>. Unlike English, there aren\u2019t any special continuous forms in German. For starters, let\u2019s have a closer look to the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong>, which is basically equivalent to the English tenses Simple Present<\/em> and Present Progressive<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You can use the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em> under four different circumstances.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. The \u2018current\u2019 Pr\u00e4sens<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> is used to point to current events, which means that the time of speech coincides with the action. Thereby, the beginning and period of the action are neither determined nor important. The action could have begun in the past and may still be in progress at the moment of speech, and can also outlast the moment of speaking.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/p>\n

Mein Mann arbeitet am Computer. = My husband works on the computer. \/ My husband is working on the computer.<\/p>\n

As you can see this German sentence has two possible English translations. It can either mean that someone\u2019s husband \u2018does generally work on a computer\u2019 or that someone\u2019s husband \u2018is working on a computer\u2019 at the moment of speaking. Thus, there is no particular simple<\/strong> and\/or progressive<\/strong> form of the German Pr\u00e4sens<\/em> tense.<\/p>\n

Of course, there can arise misunderstandings in German when you utter a sentence like the one above, as you can never tell whether someone is talking about an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking. In order to avoid such misunderstandings Germans can simply insert adverbs of time like: gerade<\/em><\/strong> (just) or im Moment<\/em><\/strong> (at the moment). This results in the sentences:<\/p>\n

Mein Mann arbeitet gerade<\/strong> am Computer. = My husband is just<\/strong> working on the computer.<\/p>\n

Or:<\/p>\n

Mein Mann arbeitet im Moment<\/strong> am Computer. = My husband is working on the computer at the moment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Another example of using the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> in German displays the following sentence:<\/p>\n

Mein Mann arbeitet (jetzt) seit zwei Stunden am Computer.<\/p>\n

In order to express this situation you would use the English Present Perfect Progressive <\/em>tense: My husband has been working for two hours on the computer (now). But in German you use the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> and just insert a particular time designation, for example, seit zwei Stunden<\/em><\/strong> (which is here translated as: for two hours).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. The \u2018general\u2019 Pr\u00e4sens<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Just like the English Simple Present<\/em>, the German Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> is also used to refer universally valied circumstances:<\/p>\n

Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland. (Berlin is the capital of Germany.)<\/p>\n

Die Sonne geht im Osten auf. (The sun rises in the east.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. The \u2018future\u2019 Pr\u00e4sens<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

You can also use the German Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> to point to the future. Germans commonly choose this tense in their everyday speech. But you have to make sure that you point to the future by inserting adverbs of time (bald<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 soon; gleich<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 immediately; morgen<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 tomorrow; \u00fcbermorgen<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 the day after tomorrow) or phrases that have an adverbial function (in der n\u00e4chsten Woche<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 in the next week; im n\u00e4chsten Jahr<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 in the next year).<\/p>\n

Example:<\/p>\n

Meine Freundin kommt gleich. (My friend comes\/is coming soon.)<\/p>\n

Das neue Schuljahr beginnt \u00fcbermorgen. (The new school year starts\/is starting the day after tomorrow.)<\/p>\n

Ich gehe n\u00e4chsten Dienstag zum Arzt. (I see\/am seeing the doctor next Tuesday.)<\/p>\n

Of course, you can also use Futur I to point to the future. This would result in the sentences:<\/p>\n

Meine Freundin wird gleich kommen. (My friend will come soon.)<\/p>\n

Das neue Schuljahr wird \u00fcbermorgen beginnen. (The new school year will start the day after tomorrow.)<\/p>\n

Ich werde n\u00e4chsten Dienstag zum Arzt gehen. (I will see the doctor next Tuesday.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. The \u2018narrative\u2019 Pr\u00e4sens<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This type of the Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> is not a grammatical rule, but a stylistic means of expression to illustrate an action of the past more vividly. The \u2018narrative\u2019 Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> is used in narrations and novels rather than in reports or discussions.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/p>\n

\u201cNeulich ruft Sabine unerwartet an.\u201d (lit. Recently, Sabine calls unexpectedly.) instead of \u201cNeulich rief Sabine unerwartet an.\u201d (Recently, Sabine called unexpectedly.)<\/p>\n

In conclusion, you can apply the German Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> to refer to current events, the future and the past. The Pr\u00e4sens<\/em><\/strong> is also used when English requests Present Perfect Progressive<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The German language has six tenses: Pr\u00e4sens, Pr\u00e4teritum, Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt, Futur I, and Futur II. Unlike English, there aren\u2019t any special continuous forms in German. For starters, let\u2019s have a closer look to the Pr\u00e4sens, which is basically equivalent to the English tenses Simple Present and Present Progressive. You can use the Pr\u00e4sens under four…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3057","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-language","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3057"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3061,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3057\/revisions\/3061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}