German Tenses--An Overview (Part I.2)

continued from Dec 14, 2011

Konjunktiv I == Subjunctive
Präsens == (present)

ich frage == (that) I ask
du fragest == (that) you ask
er/sie/es frage == (that) he/she/it ask
wir fragen == (that) we ask
ihr fraget == (that) you ask
sie/Sie fragen == (that) they ask ((that) you ask—formal address)

Vergangenheit == (Perfekt) (past)

ich habe gefragt == (if) I asked
du habest gefragt == (if) you asked
er/sie/es habe gefragt == (if) he/she/it asked
wir haben gefragt == (if) we asked
ihr habet gefragt == (if) you asked
sie/Sie haben gefragt == (if) they asked ((if) you asked—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde fragen == (if) I were to ask/should ask
du werdest fragen == (if) you were to ask/should ask
er/sie/es werde fragen == (if) he/she/it were to ask/should ask
wir werden fragen == (if) we were to ask/should ask
ihr werdet fragen == (if) you were to ask/should ask
sie/Sie werden fragen == (if) they were to ask/should ask
((if) you were to ask/should ask—formal address)

Note: The subjunctive future with “should” is mostly used in BE.

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gefragt haben
du werdest gefragt haben
er/sie/es werde gefragt haben
wir werden gefragt haben
ihr werdet gefragt haben
sie/Sie werden gefragt haben

Note: German Konjunktiv I Futur II doesn’t seem to have a corresponding English verb tense (on the other hand, the English pluperfect subjunctive doesn’t have a corresponding German verb tense). It is rarely used in modern German anymore.

Konjunktiv II == Conditional
Präsens (Präteritum/Futur I) == (present)

ich fragte/würde fragen == I would ask
du fragtest/würdest fragen == you would ask
er/sie/es fragte/würde fragen == he/she/it would ask
wir fragten/würden fragen == we would ask
ihr fragtet/würdet fragen == you would ask
sie/Sie fragten/würden fragen == they would ask (you would ask—formal address)

Note: Regular verbs have the same forms in Konjunktiv II Präsens as in Präteritum, therefore the modal verb „werden“ is used in its conditional form (würde etc) together with the infinitive to differentiate Konjunktiv II from Präteritum.

Vergangenheit (Plusquamperfekt/Futur II) == (past)

ich hätte gefragt/würde gefragt haben == I would have asked
du hättest gefragt/würdest gefragt haben == you would have asked
er/sie/es hätte gefragt/würde gefragt haben == he/she/it would have asked
wir hätten gefragt/würden gefragt haben == we would have asked
ihr hättet gefragt/würdet gefragt haben == you would have asked
sie/Sie hätten gefragt/würden gefragt haben == they would have asked
(you would have asked—formal address)

Note: In both German Konjunktiv II tenses, both given alternatives (the „natural“ one and the one using „würde“) are equally valid and are used without difference in meaning.

Imperativ == Imperative

Frag(e)! == Ask!
Fragen wir! == Let’s ask!
Fragt! == Ask!
Fragen Sie! == Ask! (formal address)

Infinitivformen == Participles
Präsens == (present)

fragend asking

Perfekt == (past)

gefragt == asked

Watch out for Part II.1 next week!