German reference
sein
to be
Irregular · 13 form tables
Includes indicative, subjunctive I and II, and imperative forms. Separable verbs retain their word order in each form.
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Indicative
Present
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I am |
| du | you are |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it is |
| wir | we are |
| ihr | you (plural) are |
| sie/Sie | they are; you (formal) are |
Simple past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I was |
| du | you were |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it was |
| wir | we were |
| ihr | you (plural) were |
| sie/Sie | they were; you (formal) were |
Compound past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I was; I have been |
| du | you were; you have been |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it was; he/she/it has been |
| wir | we were; we have been |
| ihr | you (plural) were; you (plural) have been |
| sie/Sie | they were; they have been; you (formal) were; you (formal) have been |
Past perfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I had been |
| du | you had been |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it had been |
| wir | we had been |
| ihr | you (plural) had been |
| sie/Sie | they had been; you (formal) had been |
Future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I will be |
| du | you will be |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it will be |
| wir | we will be |
| ihr | you (plural) will be |
| sie/Sie | they will be; you (formal) will be |
Future perfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I will have been |
| du | you will have been |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it will have been |
| wir | we will have been |
| ihr | you (plural) will have been |
| sie/Sie | they will have been; you (formal) will have been |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive I
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | (that) I am |
| du | (that) you are |
| er/sie/es | (that) he/she/it is |
| wir | (that) we are |
| ihr | (that) you (plural) are |
| sie/Sie | (that) they are; (that) you (formal) are |
Subjunctive II
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I would be |
| du | you would be |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it would be |
| wir | we would be |
| ihr | you (plural) would be |
| sie/Sie | they would be; you (formal) would be |
Past subjunctive II
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I would have been |
| du | you would have been |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it would have been |
| wir | we would have been |
| ihr | you (plural) would have been |
| sie/Sie | they would have been; you (formal) would have been |
Would form
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | I would be |
| du | you would be |
| er/sie/es | he/she/it would be |
| wir | we would be |
| ihr | you (plural) would be |
| sie/Sie | they would be; you (formal) would be |
Past subjunctive I
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | (reportedly) I have been |
| du | (reportedly) you have been |
| er/sie/es | (reportedly) he/she/it has been |
| wir | (reportedly) we have been |
| ihr | (reportedly) you (plural) have been |
| sie/Sie | (reportedly) they have been; (reportedly) you (formal) have been |
Future subjunctive I
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| ich | (reportedly) I will be |
| du | (reportedly) you will be |
| er/sie/es | (reportedly) he/she/it will be |
| wir | (reportedly) we will be |
| ihr | (reportedly) you (plural) will be |
| sie/Sie | (reportedly) they will be; (reportedly) you (formal) will be |
Imperative
Imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| du | be! |
| ihr | be! (plural) |
| sie/Sie | be! (formal) |
Additional forms
- Infinitive with zu
- Present participle
- Past participle
- Past infinitive
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all German entries.