This chapter explains the main uses of the various verb forms in German:
the use of the TENSES(7.1–7.3) the PASSIVEand passive constructions (7.4–7.9) the uses of the SUBJUNCTIVE(7.10–7.12) the MODAL AUXILIARIES(7.13–7.19).7.1 The tenses and their use
As you saw in section 6.2, there are six TENSES of the verb in German. These correspond quite closely in form and use to the six English tenses:
German has no forms like the extended verb forms in English, so that ich kaufe can correspond to English ‘I buy’, ‘I am buying’, ‘I do buy’. Whereas English can distinguish an ongoing action by a progressive tense (e.g. ‘I’m reading’), this is not possible in German. Instead you often find an adverbial such as gerade (e.g. Ich lese gerade):
Otherwise, though, the use of the tenses in German is close to that of the corresponding English ones, and in most cases the same tense is used in German as would be used in the corre-sponding context in English. Sections 7.2–7.3 give you information about important instances where German and English do not agree in the use of tense.
present ich kaufe I buy
past ich kaufte I bought
perfect ich habe gekauft I have bought
pluperfect ich hatte gekauft I had bought
future ich werde kaufen I shall/will buy
future perfect ich werde gekauft haben I shall/will have bought
Ich repariere gerademein Fahrrad. I’m fixing my bike.
Sie telefonierte gerade, als er hereinkam. She was telephoning when he came in.
7.2 Present and future
The PRESENT TENSE is mostly used as in English, to express an action in the present or a generalization:
German also often uses the present tense to refer to the future, as long as the future meaning is clear from the context (typically through a time adverbial):
NB There is no equivalent in German to the ‘going to future’, e.g. ‘I’m going to see him tomorrow’: Ich sehe ihn morgen.
The FUTURE TENSEis used much less in German than in English.
The future tense is mainly used to refer to the future if the present could be misunderstood:
NB Er arbeitetwieder bei der Post can only mean ‘Heis workingfor the post office again’.
In both English and German, the future tense may indicate not that something is going to happen in the future, but that the speaker supposes that something has happened, is happening, or will happen.
In German the most common use of the future tense is to express a supposition (often with the modal particle wohl):
The FUTURE PERFECTcan refer to an event before another one in the future:
The future perfect is also commonly used to express a supposition about the past:
7.2 Present and future 101
Wir beziehenuns auf Ihr heutiges Fax. We refer to your fax of today.
Ich gehejeden Samstag ins Kino. I go to the cinema every Saturday.
In zwei Stunden binich wieder da. I’ll be back in two hours.
Ichschreibeden Brief heute Abend. I’ll write the letter tonight.
Vielleicht sagter es ihr. Perhaps he’ll tell her.
Er wirdwieder bei der Postarbeiten. He is going to work for the post office again.
Siewird(wohl) wieder krank sein. She’ll be ill again./I expect she’s ill again.
Dietlindewird auchkommen wollen. Dietlinde will want to come too.
Wenn wir uns wiedersehen,werden By the time we meet again, we will both wir beide unser Abiturgemacht haben. have done our Abitur.
Bis morgen werde ich den Briefgeschrieben haben. By tomorrow I’ll have written the letter.
Siewird(wohl) krankgewesen sein. She’ll have been ill./I expect she was ill.
Max wird den Terminvergessen haben. I expect Max forgot the appointment.
In German, the perfect tense is often used in contexts like these rather than the future perfect:
7.3 Past and perfect
There are important differences between English and German in the use of thePERFECT TENSE.
In English the perfect tense is clearly distinct from the past tense. It links a past action to the present time in some way. Compare:
The German perfect tense is not as clearly distinct in meaning and use from the past tense, and their uses overlap.
As in English, the German perfect tense often refers to a present state resulting from a past action:
Contrary to English, the German perfect tense is often used to refer to an action or event wholly in the past.
In such contexts English always uses a past tense:
In general, the past tense is used to narrate past actions or events in written German.
In spoken German, the perfect tense is commonly used in such contexts:
Although the perfect tense predominates in speech in such contexts, the past tense is not unusual.
The past tense is used especially in northern German and with common verbs like sein, haben, gehen, kommen and the modal auxiliaries dürfen, können, mögen, müssen, sollen and wollen.
102 Verbs: uses
Ich habeihr schon geschrieben. I’ve already written to her.
Ich habe mir das Bein gebrochen. I’ve broken my leg.
Ich habesie vorige Woche in der Stadt gesehen. I saw her in town last week.
Letztes Jahr habenwir noch in Köln gewohnt. Last year we were still living in Cologne.
I’ve brokenmy leg(see the plaster). I brokemy leg skiing(it’s healed up now).
written 1960 gingendie Beatles nach Hamburg, wo sie in Nachtclubs spielten.
German Im „Top Ten“schlugensie wie eine Bombe ein.
spoken 1960 sinddie Beatles nach Hamburg gegangen, wo sie in Nachtclubs German gespielt haben. Im „Top Ten“ habensie wie eine Bombe eingeschlagen.
English In 1960, the Beatles wentto Hamburg, where they playedin nightclubs.
They went downlike a bomb/werea smash hit in the ‘Top Ten’.
Bis morgen habe ich den Brief geschrieben. By tomorrow I will have written the letter.
Sieist(wohl) krankgewesen. I expect she was ill.
Both in spoken and in written German you may find the two tenses used more or less inter-changeably.
‘Up-to-now’ contexts
In ‘up-to-now’ sentences, typically with ‘for’ or ‘since’, English uses the perfect tense (often in the progressive). German always uses the PRESENT TENSEin such contexts (usually with seit or schon):
7.4 The passive with werden
Action is typically expressed using the ‘default’ ACTIVE VOICE, both in English and in German. The active sentence Die Schlange frisst den Frosch (‘The snake is eating the frog’) tells us what is happening and who or what is doing it. But we can also use the PASSIVE VOICEand thereby pres-ent a differpres-ent perspective on an action: Der Frosch wird gefressen (‘The frog is being eaten’) places the emphasis on what is going on without saying who is doing it.
Most active sentences with a TRANSITIVE VERBcan be turned into passive sentences (a transitive verb takes a direct object, in the accusative case, see 1.3). The ACCUSATIVE OBJECTof the active sentence becomes the SUBJECTof the passive sentence:
The subject of the active sentence (die Schlange) is either omitted altogether, or appears in a phrase using von or durch (English ‘by’, see 7.7): Der Frosch wird von der Schlange gefressen (‘The frog is being eaten by the snake’):
7.4 The passive with werden 103
tense active passive
present Der Arzt heilt den Patienten. Der Patient wird(vom Arzt) geheilt.
The doctor heals the patient. The patient is healed(by the doctor).
past Die Bauleute rissen das Haus ab. Das Hauswurde(von den Bauleuten)abgerissen.
The builders pulled downthe house. The house was pulled down(by the builders).
Ichstudiere seit 6 Wochen dort. I’ve been studyingthere for 6 weeks.
Erfährt seit 1990 jedes Jahr nach Dresden. Since 1990he’s been goingto Dresden every year.
Wirwartenschon eine Stunde auf euch! We’ve been waitingfor you for an hour!