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WORD GRAMMAR
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Verb
- Conjugation in indicative
- Person and number
- Tenses
- Voice
- Mood
- Verb categories
- Valency
- Semantic categories of verbs
- Finite / non-finite verb forms
- Noun
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Article
- Pronoun
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Particle
- Interjection
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Verb
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SENTENCE GRAMMAR
- Clause types
- Complex clauses
- Constituents of a sentence
- Sentence structure
- Word order in a sentence
- Negation
The verb
C10
Words like the following are called verbs.
schreiben, reisen, einkaufen, lesen, verstehen, werden, können, fliegen, einschlafen, lachen
C10A
The predicate
Verbs form the predicate. The predicate is the most important constituent of a sentence, the one on which other sentence constituents depend. It may consist of one or more parts.
simple predicate | complex predicate |
Die Kinder spielen im Garten. | Er wird nach der Arbeit einkaufen gehen. |
C10B
Verb categories
Because of their ability to form the predicate, verbs are divided in various categories : full, auxiliary, modal, copular (linking) and empty verbs.
Examples | formation of the predicate | |
full verbs | Petra arbeitet bei der Post. | form the predicate alone |
auxiliary verbs | Wir haben eine leckere Pizza gegessen. | form the predicate together with an infinitive or the past participle (Partizip II) |
modal verbs | Ich muss meine Hausaufgaben machen. | form the predicate together with an infinitive |
copular (linking) verbs* | Seine Töchter sind sehr nett. | form the predicate together with an adjective or a noun |
empty verbs* | Triffst du endlich eine Entscheidung? | form the predicate together with a noun |
* The copular (lnking) verbs and empty verbs form the predicate only with nouns and adjectives, not with infinitive verb forms.
C10C
Grammatical categories
Verbs are the only parts of speech that can be conjugated, thus expressing five grammatical categories : person, number, tense, voice and mood.
In the example that follows, the verb "schreibt" expresses these five categories.
Example | person | number | tense | voice | mood |
Julia schreibt ihre Diplomarbeit. | 3. person | singular | present | active | indicative |
Only finite verb forms express all five categories. Non- finite verb forms do not express person, number or mood. These verb forms are not conjugated and include the infinitive, the present participle (Partizip I) and the past partiple (Partizip II).
Furthermore, verbs are divided into irregular (starken) and regular (schwachen) verbs. Regular verbs retain their verb stem vowel unchanged in all tense forms and moods, while the verb stem vowel of irregular verbs changes, at least between the present form and the Präteritum.
Examples | verb stem vowel | |
schwaches (regular) verb | spiele, spielte, gespielt | verb stem vowel remains unchanged |
starkes (irregular) verb | singe, sang, gesungen | verb stem vowel changes |
C10D
Level B1
Valency
Verbs are combined with other sentence constituents like the subject, the object or adverbials. Verbs can determine the obligatory and/or optional arguments of a sentence. This property is called valency.
Examples | |||||
Ich | brauche | heute | unbedingt | ein Auto | für den Möbeltransport. |
obligatory | optional | optional | obligatory | optional |
Depending on the way verbs are combined with other sentence arguments (subject, object), they are classified as follows:
Examples | Description | |
personal | ich spiele, du schreibst | subject in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd person |
impersonal | es regnet, es schneit | the impersonal es is always the only subject |
transitive | ich brauche Hilfe | object in the accusative |
intransitive | ich helfe dir | object not in the accusative |
reflexive | ich wasche mich | subject and object are identical |
reciprocal | wir treffen uns | a mutual relation between multiple subjects and objects is expresssed |
C10E
Level A1A2
Separable and inseparable verbs
There are simple and compound verbs. In the German language, it is possible to form a compound verb from a simple one, with the addition of a prefix.
Example | |
stehen | simple verb |
aufstehen, bestehen, entstehen, gestehen | compound verb |
Compound verbs can be either separable or inseparable. As a general rule, in separable verbs the prefix is detached from the verb.
Example | |
Der Lehrer beantwortet die Fragen der Schüler. | inseparable verb |
Elena macht die Tür auf. | separable verb |
C10F
Semantic categories of verbs
In conclusion, verbs can be categorized in various semantic classes, depending on whether they express state, process, action or activity.
Examples | |
singen, schlagen, essen, anrufen | action verbs |
sterben, erfrieren, wachsen, fallen | process verbs |
leben, sein, wohnen, liegen | state verbs |