The present tense: six endings and the vowel that changes
CEFR A1 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
Reading German aloud: ei, ie, z, v, w, chReading any German word aloud, knowing which letters sound different from how they are…Every noun takes a capital letterCapitalising every noun, and using those capitals when reading to find what a long…der, die or das: the gender of nounsChoosing der, die or das, and spotting the endings that give the gender away without…sein and haben: where they part company with EnglishConjugating sein and haben in the present, and knowing which one each sentence needs.The verb always comes secondPutting the verb in second place whatever the sentence starts with, and moving the…Asking questions in German: no auxiliary, and the seven W-wordsMaking both kinds of question: the yes/no one by inverting, and the one that starts with…The rule, in three lines
Drop the -en of the infinitive and add the ending: ich -e, du -st, er/sie/es -t, wir -en, ihr -t, sie/Sie -en. And one group of verbs also changes its vowel, but ONLY in du and er/sie/es: ich fahre, du fährst, er fährt, wir fahren.
The usual slip. Changing the vowel in every person. The change hits du and er/sie/es and nobody else: wir and sie go back to the infinitive vowel. The other big one is dropping the subject, which German never allows.
Why it catches you out. English barely conjugates: only the third person adds -s. So the shock is the number of endings, and the ones that get dropped are du (-st) and ihr (-t), because English has nothing there. The good news: you already keep the subject in every sentence.