German regular verbs: conjugation rules made simple
Here’s some good news if German verbs have been giving you a headache: most of them are regular. Once you know the pattern, you can conjugate hundreds of German verbs with confidence, without memorizing each one individually.
Updated on August 18, 2026
This is what makes regular verbs, also known as weak verbs, such a good place to build your foundation. They follow the same rules every time. No surprises, no stem changes to memorise. Learn the pattern once, and you can apply it to nearly every regular verb you come across.
In this guide, you'll learn how to spot a regular verb, how to conjugate it across every tense, and which small exceptions to watch for along the way.
- What is a regular (weak) verb?
- How to spot a regular verb
- Present tense (Präsens) conjugation
- German simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
- German present perfect (Perfekt): building the past participle
- German past perfect (Plusquamperfekt) and future (Futur)
- Common exceptions to watch for
- Regular vs. strong vs. mixed verbs in German
- Common regular German verbs to know
- FAQs
- Ready to put it into practice?
What is a regular (weak) verb?
A German regular verb, or schwaches Verb (weak verb), is a verb whose stem never changes, no matter the tense or subject. You conjugate it by adding a predictable set of endings to the stem. This is different from strong (irregular) verbs, which change their stem vowel in certain tenses, and mixed verbs, which combine features of both.
Regular verbs make up the majority of German verbs. Here's the quickest way to test one: does the stem stay exactly the same across every tense? If yes, it's regular.
How to spot a regular verb
You can identify a regular verb in two steps.
1. Check the infinitive ending. Regular verbs end in -en, -eln, or -ern: machen (to do), klingeln (to ring), wandern (to hike).
2. Check the stem. Drop the ending, and what's left is the stem. For a regular verb, that stem stays exactly the same in every tense and for every subject. Mach-, for example, stays mach- whether you're talking about the present, the past, or the future.
If a verb's stem changes anywhere along the way (a vowel shift, for example), it's strong or mixed, not regular.
Present tense (Präsens) conjugation
The present tense, or Präsens, is the most frequently used tense in German. For regular verbs, you take the stem and add one of six endings, depending on the subject.
| Subject | Ending | Example: machen (to do) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | mache |
| du | -st | machst |
| er/sie/es | -t | macht |
| wir | -en | machen |
| ihr | -t | macht |
| sie/Sie | -en | machen |
Verbs ending in -eln and -ern follow the same pattern, with one small twist: you drop only the final -n from the infinitive to find the stem, not the full -en.
| Subject | klingeln (to ring) | wandern (to hike) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | klingle | wandere |
| du | klingelst | wanderst |
| er/sie/es | klingelt | wandert |
| wir | klingeln | wandern |
| ihr | klingelt | wandert |
| sie/Sie | klingeln | wandern |
Notice that ich drops the -el- and adds -le instead (klingle, not klingele). That's the one quirk worth remembering for -eln verbs.
German simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
The Präteritum is German's simple past tense, used mostly in writing and formal speech. For regular verbs, you add a -t- to the stem before the ending, then the usual subject endings.
| Subject | Ending | Example: machen |
|---|---|---|
| ich | -te | machte |
| du | -test | machtest |
| er/sie/es | -te | machte |
| wir | -ten | machten |
| ihr | -tet | machtet |
| sie/Sie | -ten | machten |
Notice that ich and er/sie/es share the same form here, as do wir and sie/Sie. Spotting these mirrored pairs makes the pattern easier to remember.
German present perfect (Perfekt): building the past participle
The Perfekt is the tense you'll hear most in everyday spoken German. It's built from two parts: a conjugated auxiliary verb (haben or sein) and the past participle of the main verb.
For regular verbs, the past participle follows a simple formula: ge- + stem + -t.
| Infinitive | Past participle |
|---|---|
| machen (to do) | gemacht |
| kaufen (to buy) | gekauft |
| lernen (to learn) | gelernt |
| spielen (to play) | gespielt |
Most regular verbs take haben as the auxiliary. A small number of regular verbs describing movement, like reisen (to travel), take sein instead.
Ich habe Deutsch gelernt. (I have learned German.)
Wir haben Fußball gespielt. (We have played soccer.)
Ich bin nach Berlin gereist. (I have traveled to Berlin.)
German past perfect (Plusquamperfekt) and future (Futur)
Once you know the Perfekt, the Plusquamperfekt (past perfect) is straightforward: just put the auxiliary verb (haben or sein) into the Präteritum instead of the present tense.
Ich hatte Deutsch gelernt. (I had learned German.)
The future tense works similarly. Take the present tense of werden, then add the infinitive of your main verb at the end of the sentence.
| Subject | werden | + infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde | machen |
| du | wirst | machen |
| er/sie/es | wird | machen |
| wir | werden | machen |
| ihr | werdet | machen |
| sie/Sie | werden | machen |
This rule holds true for every verb type, regular or not, which makes the future tense one of the easier ones to master.
Common exceptions to watch for
Regular verbs are predictable, but a few small spelling adjustments keep them easy to pronounce.
Stems ending in -d, -t, -m, or -n: add an extra -e- before the ending. Without it, words like arbeiten (to work) would be nearly impossible to say.
du arbeitest (not du arbeitst)
er arbeitet (not er arbeitt)
Verbs ending in -ieren: these regular verbs, often borrowed from other languages, skip the ge- prefix in the past participle.
studieren (to study) → studiert (not gestudiert)
Separable and inseparable prefixes: verbs with a separable prefix put ge- between the prefix and the stem in the past participle (aufgemacht), while verbs with an inseparable prefix skip ge- entirely (verkauft).
Regular vs. strong vs. mixed verbs in German
Here's how the three verb types compare at a glance.
| Verb type | Stem changes? | Past tense marker | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular (weak) | No | -te / -t | machen → machte → gemacht |
| Strong (irregular) | Yes | vowel change | fahren → fuhr → gefahren |
| Mixed | Yes | -te / -t (like weak) | bringen → brachte → gebracht |
Want the full picture on irregular verbs? Check out our guide to German irregular verbs. And if you'd like to go deeper on the simple past tense specifically, we've got you covered in our guide to the German Präteritum.
Common regular German verbs to know
Here are some of the most useful regular verbs to build your vocabulary around, with their key forms across tenses.
| Infinitive | Meaning | Präsens (ich) | Präteritum (ich) | Partizip II |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| machen | to do, to make | mache | machte | gemacht |
| lernen | to learn | lerne | lernte | gelernt |
| spielen | to play | spiele | spielte | gespielt |
| kaufen | to buy | kaufe | kaufte | gekauft |
| wohnen | to live (reside) | wohne | wohnte | gewohnt |
| arbeiten | to work | arbeite | arbeitete | gearbeitet |
| sagen | to say | sage | sagte | gesagt |
| hören | to hear | höre | hörte | gehört |
| kochen | to cook | koche | kochte | gekocht |
| tanzen | to dance | tanze | tanzte | getanzt |
FAQs
The large majority of German verbs are regular. There are only around 200 strong and irregular verbs in total, so once you've learned the regular pattern, you can apply it to most new verbs you encounter.
Are -ieren verbs regular in German?
Yes. Verbs ending in -ieren follow the regular conjugation pattern, with one difference: they skip the ge- prefix in the past participle (studiert, not gestudiert).
Is machen a regular verb?
Yes, machen is one of the most common regular verbs in German, and a good one to practice the pattern with first.
Do regular verbs ever have spelling changes?
Yes, small ones. Verbs with stems ending in -d, -t, -m, or -n add an extra -e- before certain endings for pronunciation reasons (arbeitet, not arbeitt).
Ready to put it into practice?
Regular verbs are the easiest way into confident German conjugation. Learn the pattern, watch for the small exceptions, and you'll be able to handle the majority of verbs you come across without missing a beat.
Jessica Schnase
Jessica is the Senior Content Manager at Lingoda. Originally from Germany, she brings a well-traveled perspective to her work, having studied and lived across several countries while building her expertise in content marketing. She holds degrees in Media Studies and English Literature, and unwinds through pilates and singing in a choir.
