Conjugating 'haben' in the Present Tense
Conjugating 'haben' in the Present Tense
The verb haben means to have in German. It's one of the most important verbs you'll use, and it's irregular in the present tense. That means its forms don't always follow the regular pattern. You'll see that the stem changes for some pronouns.
Here's the full table of 'haben' in the present tense:
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | habe | I have |
| du | hast | you have (singular, informal) |
| er/sie/es | hat | he/she/it has |
| wir | haben | we have |
| ihr | habt | you have (plural, informal) |
| sie/Sie | haben | they/you have (formal) |
Notice how 'du' and 'er/sie/es' change the stem (hast, hat) instead of just adding the regular endings. This is what makes 'haben' irregular.
Example sentences
- Ich habe ein Buch. (I have a book.)
- Hast du Zeit? (Do you have time?)
- Wir haben Hunger. (We are hungry.)
The verb 'haben' is also used to form the perfect tense in German, so it's a building block for many sentences. The word comes from Old High German 'habēn', related to English 'have'.
Practice these forms to get comfortable with one of German's most essential verbs!
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