Ablaut Patterns in German

Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Click on an ablaut class for details Note: Because the ablaut classes are based on the vowel sounds in ProtoIndo-European, Old English, and Old High German, the spelling of the vowels may differ in modern English and German. Ablaut Class 1a. ei - i - i 1b. ei - ie - ie 2. ie - o - o 3a. i - a - u/o 3b. e - a - o 4. e - a - o beissen, biss, gebissen leiden, litt, gelitten bleiben, blieb, geblieben schreiben, schrieb, geschrieben fliegen, flog, geflogen ziehen, zog, gezogen finden, fand, gefunden beginnen, begann, begonnen helfen, half, geholfen befehlen, befahl, befohlen See Class 3b freeze, froze, frozen shoot, shot, shot begin, began, begun sing, sang, sung win, won, won find, found, found break, broke, broken spoken 5. e/i - a - e 6. a - u - a 7. [x] - ie - [x]* essen, a, gegessen bitten, bat, gebeten graben, grub, gegraben blasen, blies, geblasen eat, ate, eaten give, gave, given shake, shook, shaken fall, fell, fallen drive, drove, driven slide, slid, slid German Examples English Examples

Same as 3b in modern German speak, spoke (spake),

*Class 7 verbs are uniform in having an ie past tense form, but the other vowels in the infinitive or past participle forms can vary: a/au/ei/o/u. See the chart for details. Exceptions Ausnahmen Odd verb patterns

Mixed Verbs - German verbs that combine weak and strong forms

Ablaut Class 1a - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - ei - i i Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 1a. This class is further divided into a subgroup of verbs that follow the ei-ie-ie (vowel lengthening) pattern (bleiben, schreiben, verzeihen, etc.). See Class 1b for those verbs. Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb beien, biss, gebissen bleichen, blich, geblichen gleichen, glich, geglichen gleiten, glitt, geglitten Note: The verb begleiten (to accompany) has weak verb conjugation. greifen, griff, gegriffen kneifen, kniff, gekniffen leiden, litt, gelitten Note: The verb verleiden (to spoil) is conjugated as a weak verb. pfeifen, pfiff, gepfiffen reien, riss, gerissen reiten, ritt, geritten scheien, schiss, geschissen schleichen, schlich, geschlichen schleifen, schliff, geschliffen Note: When conjugated as a weak verb, schleifen means to drag. schmeien, schmiss, geschmissen schneiden, schnitt, geschnitten schreiten, schritt, geschritten toss, tossed, tossed cut, cut, cut step, stepped, stepped whistle, whistled, whistled tear, tore, torn ride, rode, ridden shit, shitted (shat), shitted sneak, sneaked, sneaked polish, polished, polished grasp, grasped, grasped pinch, pinched, pinched suffer, suffered, suffered English Meaning bite, bit, bitten bleach, bleached, bleached resemble, resembled, resembled glide, glided, glided

spleien, spliss, gesplissen streichen, strich, gestrichen streiten, stritt, gestritten weichen, wich, gewichen Note: The weak verb weichen means to soften.

splice, spliced, spliced spread, spread, spread argue, argued, argued retreat, retreated, retreated

Ablaut Class 1b - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - ei - ie ie Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 1. This class is further divided into a larger subgroup of verbs that follow the ei-i-i pattern. See Class 1a for those verbs. Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb bleiben, blieb, geblieben gedeihen, gedieh, gediehen leihen, lieh, geliehen meiden, mied, gemieden preisen, pries, gepriesen reiben, rieb, gerieben scheiden, schied, geschieden scheinen, schien, geschienen schreiben, schrieb, geschrieben schreien, schrie, geschrie(e)n schweigen, schwieg, geschwiegen speien, spie, gespie(e)n steigen, stieg, gestiegen treiben, trieb, getrieben verzeihen, verzieh, verziehen weisen, wies, gewiesen English Meaning stay, stayed, stayed flourish, flourished, flourished loan, loaned, loaned avoid, avoided, avoided praise, praised, praised rub, rubbed, rubbed part, parted, parted shine, shone, shone write, wrote, written scream, screamed, screamed be silent, was silent, has been silent spew, spewed, spewed climb, climbed, climbed drive, drove, driven forgive, forgave, forgiven reject, rejected, rejected

Ablaut Class 2 - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - ie - o o Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 2. Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb biegen, bog, gebogen bieten, bot, geboten erkiesen, erkor, erkoren fliegen, flog, geflogen fliehen, floh, geflohen flieen, floss, geflossen frieren, fror, gefroren genieen, genoss, genossen gieen, goss, gegossen kriechen, kroch, gekrochen riechen, roch, gerochen schieben, schob, geschoben schieen, schoss, geschossen schlieen, schloss, geschlossen sprieen, spross, gesprossen stieben, stob, gestoben verdieen, verdross, verdrossen verlieren, verlor, verloren wiegen, wog, gewogen
Note: The weak verb wiegen means to rock, sway.

English Meaning bend, bent, bent offer, offered, offered choose, chose, chosen fly, flew, flown flee, fled, fled flow, flowed, flowed freeze, froze, frozen enjoy, enjoyed, enjoyed pour, poured, poured crawl, crawled, crawled smell, smelled, smelled shove, shoved, shoved shoot, shot, shot close, closed, closed sprout, sprouted, sprouted spray, sprayed, sprayed Vex, vexed, vexed lose, lost, lost weigh, weighed, weighed

ziehen, zog, gezogen

pull, pulled, pulled

Ablaut Class 3a - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - i - a u Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 3a. Also see the Class 3b verbs (e - a - o). Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb binden, band, gebunden dringen, drang, gedrungen finden, fand, gefunden gelingen, gelang, gelungen klingen, klang, geklungen misslingen, misslang, misslungen ringen, rang, gerungen schlingen, schlang, geschlungen schwinden, schwand, geschwunden schwingen, schwang, geschwungen singen, sang, gesungen sinken, sank, gesunken springen, sprang, gesprungen stinken, stank, gestunken trinken, trank, getrunken verschwinden, verschwand, verschwunden winden, wand, gewunden wringen, wrang, gewrungen zwingen, zwang, gezwungen German Verb beginnen, begann, begonnen gewinnen, gewann, gewonnen rinnen, rann, geronnen wind, winded, winded wring, wrung, wrung force, forced, forced Class 3: i - a - o English Meaning begin, began, begun win, won, won trickle, trickled, trickled English Meaning tie, tied, tied press, pressed, pressed find, found, found succeed, succeeded, succeeded sound, sounded, sounded fail, failed, failed ring, rang, rung wrap, wrapped, wrapped dwindle, dwindled, dwindled vibrate, vibrated, vibrated sing, sang, sung sink sank, sunk spring, sprang, sprung stink, stank, stunk drink, drank, drunk disappear, disappeared, disappeared

schwimmen, schwamm, geschwommen swim, swam, swum sinnen, sann, gesonnen spinnen, spann, gesponnen meditate, meditated, meditated spin, span, spun

Ablaut Class 3b - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - e - a o Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 3b. Also see the Class 3a verbs (i - a - u/o). Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb befehlen, befahl, befohlen Note: fehlen (to be missing or lacking) is conjugated as a weak verb. bergen, barg, geborgen bersten, barst, geborsten brechen, brach, gebrochen empfehlen, empfahl, empfohlen erscheken, erschak, erschoken gebren, gebar, geboren gelten, galt, gegolten helfen, half, geholfen nehmen, nahm, genommen schelten, schalt, gescholten schrecken, schrack, geschrocken sprechen, sprach, gesprochen stechen, stach, gestochen stehlen, stahl, gestohlen sterben, starb, gestorben treffen, traf, getroffen verderben, verdarb, verdorben rescue, rescued, rescued burst, bursted, bursted break, broke, broken recommend, recommended, recommended be startled, was startled, been startled give birth, gave birth, given birth apply, applied, applied (to) help, helped, helped take, took, taken scold, scolded, scolded frighten, frightened, frightened speak, spoke, spoken prick, pricked, pricked steal, stole, stolen die, died, died meet, met, met spoil, spoiled, spoiled English Meaning command, commanded, commanded

werben, warb, geworben werden, wurde (ward), geworden werfen, warf, geworfen

advertise, advertised, advertised become, became, become throw, threw, thrown Class 3b: e - o o

German Verb bewegen, bewog, bewogen Note: When bewegen means to move, it is conjugated as a weak verb. dreschen, drosch, gedroschen fechten, focht, gefochten flechten, flocht, geflochten heben, hob, gehoben quellen, quoll, gequollen scheren, schor, geschoren
Note: When conjugated as a weak verb, scheren means to concern.

English Meaning induce, induce, induced

thresh, threshed, threshed fence, fenced, fenced braid, braided, braided lift, lifted, lifted stream, streamed, streamed shear, sheared, sheared

schmelzen, schmolz, geschmolzen schwellen, schwoll, geschwollen wgen, wog, gewogen

thaw, thawed, thawed swell, swelled, swollen weigh, weighed, weighed

Ablaut Class 5 - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - e - a e Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 5. Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb essen, a, gegessen fressen, fra, gefressen geben, gab, gegeben genesen, genas, genesen English Meaning eat, ate, eaten eat, ate, eaten (of animals) give, gave, given recuperate, recuperated, recuperated

geschehen, geschah, geschehen lesen, las, gelesen messen, ma, gemessen sehen, sah, gesehen treten, trat, getreten vergessen, verga, vergessen German Verb bitten, bat, gebeten liegen, lag, gelegen sitzen, sa, gesessen

happen, happened, happened read, read, read measure, measured, measured see, saw, seen step, stepped, stepped forget, forgot, forgot English Meaning request, requested, requested recline, reclined, reclined sit, sat, sat

Class 5: i/ie - a - e

Ablaut Class 6 - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts - a - u a Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 6. Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. Also see irregular Class 6 verbs below. German Verb fahren, fuhr, gefahren graben, grub, gegraben laden, lud, geladen schaffen, schuf, geschaffen Note: When conjugated as a weak verb, schaffen means to manage, work. schlagen, schlug, geschlagen tragen, trug, getragen Note: The verbs beauftragen and beantragen have weak verb conjugations. beat, beat, beaten carry, carried, carried English Meaning drive, drove, driven dig, dug, dug load, loaded, loaded create, created, created

wachsen, wuchs, gewachsen waschen, wusch, gewaschen

grow, grew, grown wash, wash, wash Class 6: a - [a] - a

The following verbs follow the Class 6 pattern only in part; the past tense form is weak. German Verb backen, backte (buk)*, gebacken fragen, fragte (frug)**, gefragt English Meaning bake, baked, baked ask, asked, asked

*Although backen has a weak past in modern German, its past participle is strong. The strong past tense form buk is rarely used today. **The verb fragen is weak in modern German. The strong past tense form frug is rarely used today. mahlen, [mahlte], gemahlen salzen, [salzte], gesalzen grind, gound, ground salt, salted, salted

Ablaut Class 7 - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts (a-ie-a) Verbs in Class 7 are uniform in having an "[x]-ie-[x]" pattern in which the first and last forms have the same vowel/diphthong, while the center (past tense) form is always ie. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs in Class 7. Note: These verbs have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb Class 7: a - ie - a blasen, blies, geblasen braten, briet, gebraten fallen, fiel, gefallen halten, hielt, gehalten Note: The verb beinhalten (to comprise) has weak verb conjugation. lassen, lie, gelassen raten, riet, geraten schlafen, schlief, geschlafen let, let, let advise, advised, advised sleep, slept, slept blow, blew, blown roast, roasted, roasted fall, fell, fallen hold, held, held English Meaning

Class 7: au - ie - au hauen, hing, gehauen

Note: hauen may also be conjugated as a weak verb. There is no difference in meaning.

hit, hit, hit

laufen, lief, gelaufen heien, hiess, geheien

run, ran, run Class 7: ei - ie - ei be named, was named, has been named Class 7: o - ie - o

stoen, stie, gestoen rufen, rief, gerufen

bump, bumped, bumped Class 7: u - ie - u call, called, called Class 7: a/ - i - a/ Anomaly with i rather than ie

fangen, fing, gefangen hngen, hing, gehangen

catch, caught, caught hang, hanged, hanged

Ablaut Class Exceptions - German

German Strong-Verb Conjugation Patterns Principal Parts Other There are seven ablaut classes or vowel-shift patterns found in the conjugation of German verbs. Below is a list of German strong (irregular) verbs that do not follow a standard vowel pattern. Note: These verbs may have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb betrgen, betrog, betrogen erklimmen, erklomm, erklommen erlschen, erlosch, erloschen Note: When erlschen is transitive (to extinguish) it is conjugated as a weak verb. gehen, ging, ist gegangen glimmen, glomm, geglommen go, went, gone smoulder, smouldered, smouldered English Meaning deceive, deceived, deceived scale, scaled, scaled extinguish, extinguished, extinguished

kommen, kam, ist gekommen lgen, log, gelogen saufen, soff, gesoffen saugen, sog, gesogen Note: The weak conjugation of saugen is equally frequent. schwren, schwor, geschworen stehen, stand, gestanden tun, tat, getan trgen, trog, getrogen

come, came, come lie, lied, lied (falsehood) drink, drank, drunk (alcohol) suck, sucked, sucked

swear, swore, sworn stand, stood, stood do, did, done deceive, deceived, deceived

Mixed Verbs in German The so-called "mixed" verbs combine elements of strong (irregular) and weak (regular) German verbs. Since most mixed verbs are very common in German, it is important to learn them. The following alphabetical list indicates the German mixed verbs. Note: These verbs may have other English meanings besides the one shown. German Verb brennen, brannte, gebrannt bringen, brachte, gebracht denken, dachte, gedacht kennen, kannte, gekannt haben, hatte, gehabt mahlen, mahlte, gemahlen* (Class 6) melke, melkte, gemolken nennen, nannte, genannt rennen, rannte, gerannt salzen, salzte, gesalzen* (Class 6) schinden, schindete, geschunden senden, sandte, gesandt Note: When conjugated as a weak verb, senden means to broadcast. sieden, siedete, gesotten boil, boiled, boiled English Meaning burn, burned, burned bring, brought, brought think, thought, thought know, knew, known have, had, had grind, ground, ground milk, milked, milked name, named, named run, ran, run salt, salted, salted flay, flayed, flayed send, sent, sent

spalten, spaltete, gespalten* (Class 6) split, split, split wenden, wandte, gewandt Note: wenden may be conjugated as a weak verb, especially to mean to turn over, turn around. wissen, wusste, gewusst verbs). know, knew, known *Verbs with a strong past participle that belong to ablaut class 6 (strong turn, turned, turned