Basic German structures

Introduction

This document contains the essential elements to express 95% of common German sentences. It includes:

  • Subjects (personal pronouns),
  • Common verbs (translated and conjugated in “ich”),
  • Affirmative and interrogative sentence structures,
  • Main question words

Subject Pronouns

English German
I ich
you (sing.) du
he er
she sie
we wir
you (pl./form.) ihr / Sie
they sie

Common Verbs (conjugated with “ich”, present tense)

English German ich…
to be sein bin
to have haben habe
to do / make machen mache
to go gehen gehe
to come kommen komme
can / to be able können kann
must / to have to müssen muss
to want wollen will
to know (fact) wissen weiß
to say sagen sage
to see sehen sehe
to hear hören höre
to understand verstehen verstehe
to take nehmen nehme
to eat essen esse
to drink trinken trinke
to read lesen lese
to write schreiben schreibe
to speak sprechen spreche
to live wohnen / leben wohne / lebe
to like / to love mögen / lieben mag / liebe

Essential Question Words

English German Usage
Who wer Human subject
What was Object or action
Where (static) wo Fixed location
Where (to) wohin Destination
When wann Time
How wie Manner
Why warum Cause
How much wie viel Quantity (invariable)

Sentence Structures

Affirmative Sentence

[ Subject ] + [ Conjugated Verb ] + [ Complement(s) ]

Examples:

  • Ich esse einen Apfel. → I eat an apple.
  • Wir wohnen in Berlin. → We live in Berlin.
  • Er spricht gut Deutsch. → He speaks German well.

Yes/No Question

[ Conjugated Verb ] + [ Subject ] + [ Complement(s) ] ?

Examples:

  • Kommst du? → Are you coming?
  • Sprichst du Deutsch? → Do you speak German?
  • Gehst du heute zur Schule? → Are you going to school today?

Wh- Question

[ Question word ] + [ Conjugated Verb ] + [ Subject ] + [ Complement(s) ] ?

Examples:

  • Was machst du? → What are you doing?
  • Wo wohnst du? → Where do you live?
  • Wann kommst du? → When are you coming?
  • Warum bist du müde? → Why are you tired?