Irregularities in the German Present Tense and Imperative

German verbs generally follow a standard conjugation pattern, but several groups of verbs exhibit specific changes in their roots or endings, especially in the 2nd and 3rd person singular.

1. Root and Ending Contractions

In spoken German, verbs ending in -eln or -ern often drop or swap the letter -e- for easier pronunciation.

• klingeln: ich klingel (I ring) - instead of klingele.
• wandern: ich wand(e)r (I hike).

Verbs with long vowels or diphthongs in the root (like tun, knien, or schreien) often drop the -e- in their endings.

• tun: ich tu, du tust, es tut, wir tun (I do, you do, it does, we do).
• gehn/schaun: In casual speech, gehen becomes gehn and schauen becomes schaun.

2. The e → i/ie Vowel Change

Many strong verbs with an -e- in the root change it to -i- or -ie- in the 2nd and 3rd person singular, and in the singular imperative.

• helfen: du hilfst, es hilft, hilf! (you help, it helps, help!).
• lesen: du liest, es liest, lies! (you read, it reads, read!).
• geben/nehmen/treten: These change a long -e- to a short -i-: du gibst, du nimmst, du trittst.

Note: If the root ends in -d or -t and undergoes this vowel change, we do not add an extra -e- before the ending: es gilt (it is valid), es tritt (it steps).

3. The Umlaut Change (a → ä / au → äu)

Most strong verbs with -a- or -au- take an Umlaut in the 2nd and 3rd person singular of the present tense.

• fahren: du fährst, es fährt (you drive, it drives).
• laufen: du läufst, es läuft (you run, it runs).
• halten: es hält (it holds - notice no extra -e- before the -t).

4. Imperative Singular Rules

The ending -e in the imperative (command) form is often optional in spoken German, but there are strict rules:

• Optional: Komm! or Komme! (Come!).
• Never use -e: Verbs that change e → i/ie: Lies! (Read!), Nimm! (Take!).
• Always use -e: Verbs ending in -d, -t, -ig, -m, -n (after a consonant): Entschuldige! (Excuse me!), Warte! (Wait!).

5. Past Participles without "ge-"

Usually, past participles start with ge- (e.g., gekauft). However, some verbs omit this prefix:

• Inseparable prefixes: bedeutet (meant), erfunden (invented), zerbrochen (broken).
• Verbs ending in -ieren: studiert (studied), gratuliert (congratulated).
• Unstressed initial syllables: prophezeit (prophesied), recycelt (recycled).