40 Essential Strong Verbs to Flex Those German Muscles (2023)

Vonsara Last update:February 2, 2022

Can your knowledge of German withstand a battle with strong verbs?

Wait, wait, take off your boxing gloves.

you will not be summonedhardbecause they will hit you.

you are stronggrammatically. That is, strong verbs smash the regular German conjugation rules and use their own.

It might seem a little intimidating at first, but you'll soon see that it'seasier than you think.

We have a simple tutorial andResources for practicing verbsto help you understand and master these tricky verbs.

Then we will give a list.40 important strong German verbsmemorize them so that you are always ready to face them.

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What exactly are strong German verbs?

To make things really easy, let's first define strong verbs, as well as their counterparts,weak german verbs.

Weak verbs are conjugated according to systematic rules, sothey are also known as "normal verbs".

The difference of,Strong verbs don't follow special rules when it comes to conjugations. they conjugate irregularly,which means they are also called "irregular verbs".

Let's first see the difference between strong and weak verbs with examples in English:

When you talk about running yesterday, do you say "I ran" or "I ran"?

If "to run" were a weak verb, I would say "runned" because I would use the main verb (run) and add the regular verb ending in the past tense (-ed). However, "to run" is a strong verb, which means it has its own irregular conjugation rules. So "ran" is wrong. You would say, "I ran".

Fortunately for native English speakers, German has a similar structure to English when it comes to verbs.

How Strong Verbs Work in German

Again, the easiest way to understand strong verbs may be to compare them to weak verbs first.

As mentioned above, weak verbs follow systematic and predictable conjugation rules. She makesparticularly easy to learn. You don't have to remember it in different ways. You just need to remember which verbs are weak, and once you know that, you'll know what form it will take.

Let's use the weak German verbquestions(ask) as an example. HeRegular verb endings in the present tense.sind: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en.

asked(Asked)

you ask(you ask)

he/she/it had been asking(he/she/you ask)

we ask you(we ask you)

You ask(you ask everyone)

they asked(They asked)

To conjugate the past participle of weak verbs, put "ge-" in front of the head of the verb and "-t" at the end.

The past participle forquestionsEsasked(asked).

conjugated inthird person imperfect or past simple, you add “-te” to the stem of the verb.

Forquestions, the third person is imperfectasked(asked).

However, strong verbs do not follow regular conjugation rules and often have a change in the verb stem.(The verb root is the infinitive or dictionary form of the verb, discarding the -en at the end.)

For example, to get the past participle of the verbe(to go) we have to change the root (e) and clip-Emeverything final.

EPast participle:era

AConjugate the Simple Past of Strong German Verbs, often changes the root of the verb and adds nothing.

The third person imperfect ofeEsera(era).

Just remembering which verbs are strong verbs will help you a lot before you even learn the correct conjugations. We will provide a list of strong verbs and their correct conjugations later in this post.

Grammar tricks to identify strong verbs

Unfortunately, strong verbs just need to be memorized. However, there are some tricks you can use to make things easier.

The past participle and the third-person imperfect test

The most common places you'll see verb stem changes when working with strong verbs are in the past participle or third person imperfect, which is why we do this.Use these two conjugations to test whether the verbs are strong or weak..

See these sentences that are formed from the verbto say(to say).You thinkto sayIs it a strong or weak verb?

I said(I said)

he said(he said)

Note that the past participle follows the rule ge- + verb root + -t. Then mark the imperfect third person and look for a verbal stem change. In this case there are none. Thento sayit is a weak verb.

The equivalent test in English

you can use this tooPractical learning trick to distinguish strong and weak verbs: verbs with relatives in English are generally the same type as verbs in German.

For example, "to laugh" is a weak verb in English. You say "laughs" and "I laugh". See how the root of the verb doesn't change? In German,rir(laughs) is also a weak verb.

“begin”, on the other hand, is a strong verb in English. You don't say "he started", you say "he started". the german equivalentto start, is also a strong verb.

Don't forget the mixed German verbs!

Before we go too far, let's take a moment to note that there actually is a third category of verbs. You might think that strong and weak don't leave a middle ground, but there are also mixed verbs that have strong and weak verbs. In other words,These verbs enjoy the comfort of these regular, weak verb endings.but shealso has changes in the root of the verb. See this example:

Ter(ter):I had(I had),he had(he had)

In this case, we have a verb that follows the weak verb ending rules, but we can also see a verb stem change in the simple past tense (habbecomesCabin).

Resources for learning German verb types

Memorization relies heavily on repetition rather than focusing on something for too long. Fortunately, for those of us who carry smartphones with us, there are many great apps for remembering information.

you can use yourStandard notepad applicationto keep lists of complicated German verbs and review them while waiting in line at the market or at a bus stop. You too can benefitFlashcard apps like Quizlet, they havemany lists available to memorize German verb phrases. If you don't find the ideal list you're looking for, you can always create your own.

Here's the good news: most German verbs are weak verbs. This means you can rely on its systematic conjugations for most verbs. To help you get started with memorizing German strong verbs, we've compiled a list of 40 commonly used strong verbs for your learning pleasure.

The following verbs are also given with their respective past participles and third person past tense forms.

To start(to start)

started, started

Offer(offer)

commander, robot

Stay(stay)

stayed, stayed

To bring(to bring)

brought, brought

Think(think)

thought thought

He can(be allowed)

allowed, permitted

Essen(Essen)

eaten, eaten

Lead(lead)

drove, drove

Meet(meet)

found, found

But(but)

given, given

E(e)

it was was

Help(help)

helped, helped

Sabre(Be familiar with)

I knew, I knew

For(for)

wine wine

He can(can can)

skillful, could

Permission(to allow)

left left

Run(e)

mail, mail

As(as)

I liked, I liked

Have to(camel camel)

I had to, I had to

To load(to load)

taken, took

Sleep(sleep)

sleeping, sleeping

Nadar(Nadar)

baby baby

ver(ver)

seen, there

To be(to be)

had been

Sing(sing)

sang, sang

To speak(to speak)

spoken, spoken

To stop(to stop)

parou, parou

To die(to die)

died, died

To load(to load)

worn out, worn out

To drink(to drink)

drank, drank

Once again(to do)

done, did

To forget(to forget)

forget forgot

To grow(to grow)

grew, grew

Lavar(lavar)

washing, washing

turn around(to bend)

turned, turned

To throw(to throw)

thrown away, thrown away

Sabre(knowledge)

I knew, I knew

To want(to want)

wanted, wanted

bitch(cobra)

thrown away, thrown away

Verb types can sometimes seem like an abstract piece of unnecessary information. And if you really prefer to memorize everything and don't like to rely on systematic shortcuts, this might be for you. However, for those of us who want to make our lives easier by grouping things together wherever possible, learning which verbs are weak and which are strong is a good first step towards expanding your German vocabulary. Without much effort, you will find that you already know how to use many verbs when they are conjugated regularly, and you will have more time to concentrate on those cases that require special attention due to irregularities in the conjugation of these verbs. .

Download:This blog post is available as a convenient, portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here for a copy. (Download)