Regelmäßige und unregelmäßige Verben
German verbs divide into regular (weak) and irregular (strong). Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern; irregular verbs change their stem vowel in certain forms.
DeutschEnglish
lernen (regular)
to learn — lern- stem, never changes
spielen (regular)
to play — spiel- stem, never changes
fahren (irregular a→ä)
to drive — fährt (du/er forms)
lesen (irregular e→ie)
to read — liest (du/er forms)
sprechen (irregular e→i)
to speak — spricht (du/er forms)
sehen (irregular e→ie)
to see — sieht (du/er forms)
Regular Verb Pattern (lernen)
ich lerne, du lernst, er/sie/es lernt
wir lernen, ihr lernt, sie/Sie lernen
Stem = infinitive minus -en. Add: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en
💡 Irregular stem changes ONLY affect du and er/sie/es forms. All other forms use the regular infinitive stem. This makes irregular verbs manageable — just learn 2 extra forms per verb.
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