43. The Basics of German Verbs

43.  The Basics of German Verbs

German verbs are a little more complicated than their English counterparts. Nevertheless, there are many many German words incl. verbs that are very similar to English. I am going to put you to your first test in this post to show you how they often match up but first I will give you a few hints ....

The basic German verb form (called the Infinitive or Dictionary form) will end in either 'en' or 'n'
e.g.  trinken = (to) drink.  Note that the infinitive of the verb is that part of the verb put with 'to' (zu).

sch  =  sh  in English;    k  =  c     d, t, th are all often interchangeable .... Ding = thing

By changing the vowel of a German word, you can often guess the English ... fühlen  =  feel

So let's go .... Match up the German words with the English words in the column on the right.
Ich wünsche viel Glück  [ ich voo n sher  feel gloo  k ] = I wish (you) lots of luck.

Beispiel [by shpeel]] = Example

1   sagen     (   b   )          a    fly
2   fliegen    (  a   )          b    say
.............................................................
3   schwimmen   (    )      c    see
4   reiten             (    )      d    sing
5   denken          (    )      e    bring
6   kommen        (    )      f    speak
7   angeln           (    )      g    fish
8   bringen          (    )      h    plan
9   finden            (    )      i     think
10 machen          (    )      j     come
11 sehen             (    )      k    make / do
12 hören             (    )      l     swim
13 singen            (    )      m   find
14 sprechen        (    )      n    ride (horse)
15 planen            (    )      o    hear

Street Sculpture on Kurfürstendamm Berlin