Master German Verb Tenses: The Indicative Mood Explained
If you are learning German, you will quickly encounter the Indicative (Der Indikativ). This is the most common “mood” in German because it describes reality, facts, and things that actually happen.
In this guide, we will break down how to talk about the Present, Past, and Future using simple rules and examples.
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The Present Tense (Präsens)
The Present tense is used for things happening now or for future plans when you include a time word (like “next week”).
Weak Verbs (Regular)
Most verbs follow a predictable pattern. You take the root of the verb and add these endings:
- ich -e (liebe)
- du -st (liebst)
- er/es/sie -t (liebt)
- wir -en (lieben)
- ihr -t (liebt)
- sie/Sie -en (lieben)
Strong Verbs (Irregular)
Some verbs change their “stem vowel” (the main sound in the middle) in the du and er/es/sie forms. For example, sehen (to see) becomes du siehst.
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Talking About the Past
German has three ways to talk about the past: Perfekt, Präteritum, and Plusquamperfekt.
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a. The Perfekt (Spoken Past)
This is the most common way to speak about the past. It uses a “helping verb” (haben or sein) and a Partizip II (the “ge-” form of the verb).
- With “haben”: Used for most verbs, including those with an object (e.g., Ich habe das Buch gelesen).
- With “sein”: Used for movement from point A to B or a change in state (e.g., Ich bin gelaufen, Er ist eingeschlafen).
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b. The Präteritum (Written Past)
You will see this mostly in books, stories, and newspapers.
- Weak verbs add -te- (e.g., ich liebte).
- Strong verbs change their vowel (e.g., rufen becomes ich rief).
- Tip: Even when speaking, Germans usually use the Präteritum for the verbs sein (war) and haben (hatte).
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c. The Plusquamperfekt (Past Before the Past)
Use this to describe an action that happened before another action in the past.
- Formula: war/hatte + Partizip II.
- Example: Nachdem er das Studium beendet hatte, machte er eine Weltreise (After he had finished his studies, he went on a world trip).
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Looking to the Future
3. a. Futur I (Future Intentions)
Formed with the verb werden + the infinitive (the basic verb) at the end.
- Sie wird bald nach Australien gehen.
- Note: We also use this to make a guess (Sie wird nicht mehr kommen).
3. b. Futur II (Completed Future)
This describes something that will have been finished at a certain point in the future.
- Formula: werden + Partizip II + haben/sein.
- Nächstes Jahr wird er sein Geschäft eröffnet haben.
Summary Table: German Tenses
| Tense | Main Use | Example |
| Präsens | Now / Fixed Future | Ich telefoniere. |
| Perfekt | Speaking about the past | Ich habe geliebt. |
| Präteritum | Writing / Stories | Er ging die Treppe hinauf. |
| Plusquamperfekt | The “past” past | Er hatte beendet. |
| Futur I | Future / Guesses | Ich werde rufen. |
| Futur II | Finished in the future | Er wird angekommen sein. |