du and er/sie/es forms with vowel change in present tense
A significant group of German verbs changes the vowel in their stem when conjugated in the 2nd person singular (du) and 3rd person singular (er/sie/es) of the present tense. These changes follow three predictable patterns: e→ie (as in lesen→liest), e→i (as in nehmen→nimmt), and a→ä (as in fahren→fährt). All other persons (ich, wir, ihr, sie/Sie) use the regular infinitive vowel. These verbs must be learnt individually, but once you know the pattern, you can apply it across many verbs.
Pattern 1: e→ie (long vowel lengthening)
Some verbs with the stem vowel 'e' change it to 'ie' in the du and er/sie/es forms. This lengthens the vowel sound. The most common verbs in this group at A1 level are lesen (to read) and sehen (to see). Note that this change only happens in the singular 2nd and 3rd person forms — all plural forms and the ich form use the regular 'e'.
Pattern 2: e→i (short vowel change)
Other verbs with the stem vowel 'e' change it to 'i' (short) in the du and er/sie/es forms. Common A1 verbs in this group include nehmen (to take), helfen (to help), sprechen (to speak), essen (to eat), and geben (to give). Note that 'nehmen' also has a consonant change (nehmen → du nimmst) making it doubly irregular.
Pattern 3: a→ä (umlaut change)
Verbs with the stem vowel 'a' often change it to 'ä' (umlaut) in the du and er/sie/es forms. Common A1 verbs include fahren (to drive/travel), schlafen (to sleep), and tragen (to carry/wear). As with the other patterns, only the 2nd and 3rd person singular forms are affected.
Which persons are affected — and which are not
The vowel change affects ONLY the du-form and the er/sie/es-form. The ich-form, wir-form, ihr-form, and sie/Sie-form always use the unchanged stem vowel from the infinitive. This is a key rule: if you are unsure, remember 'change in the middle two singular forms only'. This also means the ihr-form (ihr fahrt, not ihr fährt) is a common trap for learners.
Modal verbs do NOT change; Perfekt uses the base vowel
Modal verbs (können, müssen, wollen, etc.) have their own irregular patterns and do NOT follow the e→ie/i or a→ä rules described here. Additionally, when forming the Perfekt (past tense) of stem-vowel changing verbs, you use the Partizip II which is based on the infinitive vowel, not the changed form. Many of these verbs are also strong verbs with irregular Partizip II forms.
| Pronoun | lesen (e→ie) | sehen (e→ie) | nehmen (e→i) | sprechen (e→i) | essen (e→i) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | lese | sehe | nehme | spreche | esse |
| du | liest ★ | siehst ★ | nimmst ★ | sprichst ★ | isst ★ |
| er/sie/es | liest ★ | sieht ★ | nimmt ★ | spricht ★ | isst ★ |
| wir | lesen | sehen | nehmen | sprechen | essen |
| ihr | lest | seht | nehmt | sprecht | esst |
| sie/Sie | lesen | sehen | nehmen | sprechen | essen |
| Pronoun | fahren (a→ä) | schlafen (a→ä) | tragen (a→ä) | laufen (au→äu) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | fahre | schlafe | trage | laufe |
| du | fährst ★ | schläfst ★ | trägst ★ | läufst ★ |
| er/sie/es | fährt ★ | schläft ★ | trägt ★ | läuft ★ |
| wir | fahren | schlafen | tragen | laufen |
| ihr | fahrt | schlaft | tragt | lauft |
| sie/Sie | fahren | schlafen | tragen | laufen |
Er liest jeden Abend ein Buch.
He reads a book every evening.
Siehst du das Plakat dort?
Do you see that poster over there?
Sie nimmt den Bus in die Schule.
She takes the bus to school.
Sprichst du Deutsch?
Do you speak German?
Er isst gern Pizza.
He likes eating pizza.
Fährst du morgen nach Berlin?
Are you going to Berlin tomorrow?
Das Kind schläft schon.
The child is already sleeping.
Sie trägt heute eine rote Jacke.
She is wearing a red jacket today.
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