• 'wissen' to know
• 'haben' to have
• 'sein' to be
• 'werden' to become
Reflexive verbs
What is a reflexive verb and why are they used? A reflexive verb is a
verb that is conjugated with a reflexive pronoun and means
something different if used without the reflexive pronoun. Have a
look at the following sentences for example:
• Weak verbs usually end in ‘-en’ and the regular endings are
added to the root. There is rarely a vowel change in the root
and the past participle is easily formed by prefixing the root
with’ge-‘ and suffixing it with ‘-(e)t’. zB: 'gearbeitet'
• If a weak verb root features a ‘d’ or a ‘t’ it is necessary to add
an ‘e’ to the ending of the 2nd and 3rd person singular and the
an ‘e’ to the ending of the 2nd and 3rd person singular and the
2nd person plural. zB: 'du arbeitest, er/sie/man arbeitet,
ihr arbeitet'
Separable verbs
If the prefix 'be-' is added, the verb now means ‘to get’ or ‘to
receive’. If the prefix 'an-' is added, the meaning is altered to mean
‘to arrive’. The prefix 'herein-' changes it once again, this time to
the verb 'to appear'.
Inseparable verbs
Modal verbs
What are modal verbs and why are they used? Modal verbs are
sometimes referred to as auxiliary verbs as they are used in
conjunction with other verbs. In using a modal verb, one implies a
certain element of doubt. For example: 'Ich möchte nach
Deutschland fahren' ('I would like to travel to Germany' – i.e: You
are not necessarily travelling to Germany, but you would like to.)
• 'mögen' to like to
• 'können' to be able to (can)
• 'wollen' to want to
• 'sollen' to ought to (should)
• 'müssen' to have to (must)
• 'dürfen' to be allowed to (may)
Note too that other auxiliary verbs also exist and their structural
behaviour within a sentence is the same as with the modal verbs.
They are as follows:
Note that sometimes individual parts of the human body are objects
within the reflexive verb. If this is the case then one must employ
the dative of the reflexive pronoun. For example, 'Ich wasche mir
die Füße'. (' I wash my feet')
Links
http://german.about.com/homework/german/library/blstrverbs.htm
A comprehensive alphabetical list of German strong verbs. The verbs
are displayed in a chart in the infinitive, preterite and past perfect
forms.
http://www2.gasou.edu/gsufl/german/grammar/gr-vbs-1.htm
Alphabetical tables of the strong verbs. It is advisable that you learn
the main changes in the strong verbs and then you will be able to
work out the tenses.
http://www.imsa.edu/edu/forlang/gr/exercises/reflexiveexercise.html
Self-scoring test on using reflexive verbs.
http://www.travlang.com/languages/german/ihgg/verbdef.html
These pages thoroughly explain the different types of verbs in
German and their common usage: It covers the modal verbs,
auxiliary verbs, regular and irregular verbs.
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