What is the Infinitive Form?

The infinitive is the base form of a verb. It is the form you will find in dictionaries and vocabulary lists. It expresses the general idea of an action, without referring to a specific subject or tense.

In English:

Infinitives are formed using “to” + verb:

to be

to study

to drink

In German:

The infinitive usually ends in -en or sometimes just -n:

• • • kommen – to come
    • lernen – to learn
    • informieren – to inform
    • verändern – to change
    • erinnern – to remember
    • klingeln – to ring
    • lächeln – to smile
    • googeln – to google

Note: Verbs ending in -n instead of -en often have stems ending in -er or -el, where the full ending -en is phonetically reduced to -n.

How to Conjugate a Verb in Present Tense (Präsens)

Step-by-Step:

Remove the infinitive ending -en (or -n) to get the verb stem.

machen → mach-

lernen → lern-

trinken → trink-

Add the correct personal ending based on the subject (pronoun).

Present Tense Endings:

Examples of Regular Verbs in Present Tense

machen (to do / to make)

ich mache (I do / I make)

du machst (you do / you make – singular informal)

er/sie/es macht (he/she/it does / makes)

wir machen (we do / we make)

ihr macht (you do / you make – plural informal)

sie/Sie machen (they do / they make / you do / you make – formal)

lernen (to learn)

ich lerne Deutsch. (I learn German.)

du lernst Englisch. (You learn English.)

sie lernt Spanisch. (She learns Spanish.)

trinken (to drink)

ich trinke Wasser. (I drink water.)

du trinkst Tee. (You drink tea.)

wir trinken Kaffee. (We drink coffee.)

informieren (to inform)

ich informiere dich morgen. (I will inform you tomorrow.)

er informiert die Schüler. (He informs the students.)

wir informieren die Gäste. (We inform the guests.)

Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

Most verbs at the A1 level are regular, meaning they follow the rules given above. However, irregular (strong) verbs may undergo a vowel change in du and er/sie/es forms. Example:

fahren → ich fahre, du fährst, er fährt

Verbs with Stems Ending in -d -t

These get an extra -e before -st or -t:

arbeiten → du arbeitest, er arbeitet, ihr arbeitet

finden → du findest, er findet, ihr findet