German present tense: regular verbs

The idea

For many regular verbs, remove -en to find the stem, then add -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en for ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie. The present tense can describe habits or what is happening now. Some verbs are irregular.

Examples to say aloud

• Ich lerne Deutsch.
  I learn German.
• Du lernst Deutsch.
  You learn German.
• Ihr lernt Deutsch.
  You all learn German.

A common mistake

Do not add an English-style continuous form. Ich lerne can mean both “I learn” and “I am learning”.

Try it yourself

Complete: Du ___ Deutsch. (lernen)

Make your attempt, then open the explanation.

Keep practising

Try KLAR’s first three A1 lessons without signing up. These quick guides are supplementary practice and do not represent a complete A1 course.