Verbs whose stem ends in "-el" and "-er"
Regular verbs whose stem ends in "-el" or "-er" differ from the general pattern of present tense endings in the following respects:

• The infinitive of such verbs ends in "-n", not "-en".
• The first and third person plural of the present tense, along with the polite "Sie" form, also end in "-n", not "-en".
• In the "ich" form of the present tense, the "-e-" of the stem is always dropped with verbs in "-el" - e.g. ich sammle. This "-e-" is also occasionally dropped with verbs ending in "-er", although this is more common in spoken German than in written German - e.g. ich wand(e)re.

Here is the present tense of two such verbs which we have encountered in this chapter: sammeln (= to collect) and wandern (= to ramble; to hike).

Grammar 11: Present tense of "sammeln" (= to collect) Singular   ich sammle I collect du sammelst Sie sammeln You collect (informal/formal)  er/sie/es sammelt He/she/it collects Plural   wir sammeln We collect ihr sammelt Sie sammeln You collect (informal/formal)  sie sammeln They collect

Grammar 12: The present tense of "wandern" (= to ramble) Singular   ich wand(e)re I ramble du wanderst Sie wandern You ramble (informal/formal)  er/sie/es wandert He/she/it rambles Plural   wir wandern We ramble ihr wandert Sie wandern You ramble (informal/formal)  sie wandern They ramble

New irregular verbs
Here is the present tense of the new irregular verbs which we have met in this chapter. You can also click here for our full verb tables for German regular and irregular verbs.

Grammar 13: Present tense of "essen" (= to eat) Singular   ich esse I eat du isst Sie essen You eat (informal/formal)  er/sie/es isst He/she/it eats Plural   wir essen We eat ihr esst Sie essen You eat (informal/formal)  sie essen They eat

Grammar 14: The present tense of "lesen" (= to read) Singular   ich lese I read du liest Sie lesen You read (informal/formal)  er/sie/es liest He/she/it reads Plural   wir lesen We read ihr lest Sie lesen You read (informal/formal)  sie lesen They read

Grammar 15: Present tense of "tragen" (= to wear, carry) Singular   ich trage I wear du trägst Sie tragen You wear (informal/formal)  er/sie/es trägt He/she/it wears Plural   wir tragen We wear ihr tragt Sie tragen You wear (informal/formal)  sie tragen They wear

Grammar 16: Present tense of "treffen" (= to meet) Singular   ich treffe I meet du triffst Sie treffen You meet (informal/formal)  er/sie/es trifft He/she/it meets Plural   wir treffen We meet ihr trefft Sie treffen You meet (informal/formal)  sie treffen They meet

Grammar 17: Present tense of "verlassen" (= to leave) Singular   ich verlasse I leave du verlässt Sie verlassen You leave (informal/formal)  er/sie/es verlässt He/she/it leaves Plural   wir verlassen We leave ihr verlasst Sie verlassen You leave (informal/formal)  sie verlassen They leave

Grammar 18: Present tense of "waschen" (= to wash) Singular   ich wasche I wash du wäschst Sie waschen You wash (informal/formal)  er/sie/es wäscht He/she/it washes Plural   wir waschen We wash ihr wascht Sie waschen You wash (informal/formal)  sie waschen They wash

Grammar 19: Present tense of "wissen" (= to know) Singular   ich weiß I know du weißt Sie wissen You know (informal/formal)  er/sie/es weiß He/she/it knows Plural   wir wissen We know ihr wisst Sie wissen You know (informal/formal)  sie wissen They know

 Chapter 10.12: Compound verbs

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