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Understanding Deutsch Weak Verbs
In the German language, verbs are words that describe actions, like 'run' or 'play'. Weak verbs are a special group of verbs that follow regular patterns when we change them to talk about the past or other forms.
Characteristics of Weak Verbs
Important Points
They have a regular pattern when they change.
They add 'te' or 't' to make the past tense.
They do not change their stem vowel.
Forming the Past Tense
To make a weak verb talk about something that happened in the past, we usually add 'te' or 't' to the stem of the verb. The stem is the part of the verb without 'en' at the end.
Examples
spielen → ich spielte
machen → du machtest
arbeiten → er arbeitete
Forming the Present Perfect Tense
To talk about actions that have happened in the past but are still important now, we use the present perfect tense. For weak verbs, we use 'haben' or 'sein' plus the past participle. The past participle for weak verbs usually ends in 't'.
Examples
spielen → ich habe gespielt
machen → du hast gemacht
arbeiten → er hat gearbeitet
Examples of Common Weak Verbs
Important Points
spielen (to play)
machen (to make/do)
arbeiten (to work)
kaufen (to buy)
lernen (to learn)
Remember, weak verbs are like little helpers in the German language. They follow easy patterns, so we know just how to change them when we need to talk about different times.
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