Das Verb · the verb engine
A German verb is a machine: a stem plus a morphing ending. Pick a tense on the timeline and a verb below — then watch the six persons conjugate.
Describes what is happening now, habits, and general truths.
Subject + verb stem + personal ending
See it conjugate
Strong verb: watch the ablaut vowel swap in du and er/sie/es only (the coloured stem).
● Live example · Präsens
Ich fahre nach Berlin.
I drive to Berlin.
Merkhilfe: spoken German lives in Perfekt for the past (haben/sein + Partizip) and often uses plain Präsens for the future with a time word. Futur I = werden + Infinitiv; Präteritum is the written/narrative past.
Make it stick
Two rounds: pick the right form for the person & tense, then decide haben or sein for the Perfekt. Correct answers chime — wrong ones show you why.
Du … das Essen.
You make the food.