what is it?
The German present tense (Präsens) is formed by attaching a set of personal endings to the verb stem. For regular verbs the endings are -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en for the six persons. Three spelling rules adjust these endings: an -e- is inserted before -st/-t when the stem ends in -t or -d; the -s- of -st is dropped when the stem already ends in -s, -ß, or -z; and verbs whose stem ends in -el drop the stem -e- in the ich-form. The present tense covers what is happening now, habitual actions, and general facts — German has no separate continuous or emphatic present.
when to use it
Current actions and states. Use the present tense to describe what is happening right now or what is currently true: Ich wohne in Berlin. (I live in Berlin.)
Habitual or repeated actions. German uses the same form where English might say «I work» or «I am working»: Ich arbeite zu Hause. (I work at home.)
Questions and negation. German does not use an auxiliary verb like English «do/does». For yes/no questions, move the verb to first position; for negation, add nicht after the verb (or the object): Wohnst du hier? / Ich wohne nicht hier.
formation
Take the infinitive, remove the final -en (or -n for -eln verbs) to get the stem, then add the ending for each person.
| person | ending | wohnen (stem: wohn-) | arbeiten (stem: arbeit-) | heißen (stem: heiß-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | wohne | arbeite | heiße |
| du | -st | wohnst | arbeitest | heißt |
| er / sie / es | -t | wohnt | arbeitet | heißt |
| wir | -en | wohnen | arbeiten | heißen |
| ihr | -t | wohnt | arbeitet | heißt |
| sie / Sie | -en | wohnen | arbeiten | heißen |
Stem ends in -t or -d (e.g. arbeiten, finden): insert -e- before -st and -t to keep the word pronounceable: du arbeitest, er arbeitet; du findest, er findet.
Stem ends in -s, -ß, or -z (e.g. heißen): the du-ending is just -t, not -st, because the stem already supplies the s-sound: du heißt (not *heißst).
-eln verbs (e.g. sammeln — to collect): the stem is sammel-, but the ich-form drops the stem -e-: ich sammle (not *sammele).
examples in context
common pitfalls
Forgetting the -e- insertion after -t/-d stems. Forms like *du arbeitst or *er findt are unpronounceable and wrong. Always insert -e-: du arbeitest, er findet.
Doubling the -s- after -s/-ß/-z stems. *du heißst adds an unnecessary -s-. Because the stem already ends in an s-sound, the du-ending reduces to -t only: du heißt.
Using -en for er/sie/es. *er wohnen in Hamburg confuses the third-person singular ending with the plural. The correct ending for er/sie/es is -t: er wohnt in Hamburg.
Inserting an English-style auxiliary «do». German has no equivalent of «do/does» for questions or negation. Do not translate «Do you live here?» as *Tust du wohnst hier?. For questions, invert subject and verb: Wohnst du hier?. For negation, add nicht: Ich wohne nicht hier.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Wir ___ ehrlich: dieses Hemd ist zu teuer. (sagen)
Fill in the blank with the correct present-tense form of the verb in parentheses.