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Sein and Haben — To Be and To Have

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The two verbs every German sentence needs: full conjugations, the sentences they build, and negation with nicht and kein.

Sein — to be, the irregular foundation

The verb sein (to be) is completely irregular and completely unavoidable: ich bin (I am), du bist (you are), er/sie/es ist (he/she/it is), wir sind (we are), ihr seid (you all are), sie/Sie sind (they/you-formal are). It identifies and describes: Ich bin müde (I am tired), Das ist mein Bruder (that is my brother). There is no continuous form — Ich bin müde covers both "I am tired" and "I am being tired".

Haben — to have, and more than having

Haben conjugates as ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie/Sie haben. It expresses possession (Ich habe ein Auto — I have a car) but also hunger, thirst, fear and cold, where English uses "to be": Ich habe Hunger (I am hungry, literally "I have hunger"), Ich habe Angst (I am afraid). Later it becomes the helper verb for the past tense, so learn it early and well.

Negation: nicht vs kein

German negates in two ways. Nicht negates verbs, adjectives and whole sentences: Ich bin nicht müde (I am not tired), Das ist nicht gut (that is not good). Kein (declined like ein: kein/keine) negates nouns with indefinite articles or no article: Ich habe kein Auto (I have no car), Das ist keine Frage (that is no question). The shortcut: if English would use "not a / no" before a noun, German uses kein; otherwise nicht.

The verb always comes second

In a German main clause the conjugated verb sits in second position — always. Ich lerne Deutsch (I learn German). Start with something else and the verb stays put while the subject moves after it: Heute lerne ich Deutsch (today learn I German). Yes-no questions invert: verb first, subject second — Lernst du Deutsch? (learn you German?). English word order will betray you here more than anywhere else.

German course Practice Quiz Review