Subject Verb Agreement (Conjugation) Subjects and Verbs Subject Verb Agreement (Conjugation)

Subject Verb Agreement! What is Conjugation? Subject Verb Agreement!

polite you = Sie (we do not have the “polite” form in English) Subject Pronouns The subject is the person/thing doing/being. singular plural I = ich we = wir you = du y’all = ihr he = er they = sie she = sie it = es polite you = Sie (we do not have the “polite” form in English)

Infinitives An infinitive of a verb is simply an unconjuagted verb. English Examples: to go; to learn; to sing German Examples: gehen; lernen; singen In Eng. we have to take out the “to” before conjugating the verb in a sentence. In Ger. we take off the “en”.

What is an INFINITIVE? An Unconjugated Verb!

Conjugating Verbs in English In English, once we take off the “to” from “to go” we have to conjugate it to make it fit with the subject of the sentence. Sometimes that means we add nothing to it. But sometimes we do add letters or change the word. I go. You go. He goes. She goes. It goes. We go. Y’all go. They go.

Subject-Verb Agreement In English and in German, you must be sure that the Subject and the Verb Agree. Ex. You should not say in English: I goes to the store. The correct conjugation is: I go to the store. So let’s learn the endings that make German verbs Agree with the subject.

Conjugating German Verbs As stated before we take of the “en”. This gives us our stem to which we will attach our verb endings. Ex: spielen  spiel (stem) ich form = add e Ich spiele. (I play) du form = add st Du spielst. (You play) er/sie/es form = add t Er spielt. (He plays) Sie spielt. (She plays) Es spielt. (It plays) Note: the “es” form is for any noun that is a “das” (neuter) word. “sie” for “die” (feminine-singular) words, and “er” for “der” (masculine) words.

Conjugating German Verbs wir form = add en Wir spielen. (We play) ihr form = add t Ihr spielt. (Y’all play) sie form = add en Sie spielen. (They play) Sie form = add en Sie spielen. (You play) Note that this last “Sie” is the formal you – used for one or more adults.

Verb Chart Take the “en” off the verb, then add the ending! ich – e wir – en du – st ihr – t er sie t sie (pl) – en es Sie(formal) – en

Your Turn! I am learning German = Ich lerne Deutsch. Let’s conjugate the verb lernen (to learn) I am learning German = Ich lerne Deutsch. You are learning German Du lernst Deutsch. He is learning German = Er lernt Deutsch. We are learning German = Wir lernen Deutsch. Y’all are learning German = Ihr lernt Deutsch. They are learning German= Sie lernen Deutsch. To one or more adults: You are learning German. = Sie lernen Deutsch.