Chapter 8: Grammar 6

GRAMMAR 8

THE SKELETON SENTENCE: Verbs 2 — Part 6

II. Productive perspective on conjugational patterns (helping you use them)

WEAK VERBS

PRÄSENS (present tense) and

IMPERFEKT (simple past)

Weak verbs don't change their root vowels (like English verbs that take an "-ed" ending in the simple past). Instead, they add a "-t" between the root and the ending to mark the imperfect tense.

machen

spielen

Indikativ

Präsens

Imperfekt

Präsens

Imperfekt

Singular
er/sie/es
macht

machte

spielt

spielte

Plural sie machen machten spielen spielten

If you'd also like to see the forms for the other persons, please look in the references. There you'll find complete conjugational patterns.

II. Productive perspective on conjugational patterns (helping you use them)
	WEAK VERBS

	Weak verbs don't change their root vowels (like English verbs that take an "-ed" ending in the simple past). Instead, they add a "-t" between the root and the ending to mark the imperfect tense.