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Weak
Verbs
Weak (regular or schwache) verbs are predictable or regular. (There is really nothing "weak" about them. We use the term because it is widely accepted and used.) Different forms of weak verbs can be made by using the infinitive stem of the verb. To form the simple past stem, simply add -te to the infinitive stem (the equivalent of adding -ed in English). The past participle adds a prefix and a suffix to the infinitive stem: ge- is the prefix and -t is the suffix. Many strong verbs have a stem vowel change in the present, simple past and even past participle. The past participle of strong verbs has the suffix -n or -en instead of -t. There is no rule for determining weak or strong verbs: they must be learned like gender of nouns and other vocabulary. Mixed verbs are verbs that exhibit characteristics of weak verbs and characteristics of strong verbs. They usually have a stem vowel change but retain the -te suffix in the simple past and the -t suffix in the past participle. Below are a couple common examples:
Irregular verbs are verbs such as sein and werden whose pattern is not shared by any other verb. These verbs act like strong verbs.
Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add the prefix ge- in the past participle form. The most frequently used inseparable prefixes are be-, er-, emp-, ent-, ge-, miß-, ver-, and zer-.
In English we have something similar to German separable verbs. For instance, we can use the verb "clean up" in two ways: Clean your room up!/Clean up your room. German would only use it the first way. When speaking, the prefix of separable verbs is stressed whereas the prefix of inseparable verbs is not stressed. The verb retains its original classification as regular or irregular when prefixes are added. And the ge- prefix in the past participle goes between the separable prefix and the verb.
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Copyright 2001 Margaret Eskew and Angela Carr Site developed and maintained by Angela Carr of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies