German grammar · Beginner (A1)
Sein and haben: to be and to have
The two most important German verbs: their forms, what they're used for, and where German uses haben but English uses “to be”.
Sein (to be)
is irregular, so learn its forms by heart. Use it for names, where people come from, jobs, age and descriptions.
With jobs and nationalities German uses no word for “a”: (I'm a teacher).
| Person | English | |
|---|---|---|
| I am | ||
| you are | ||
| / / | he / she / it is | |
| we are | ||
| you (all) are | ||
| / | they are / you are |
- Ich bin Lehrerin.I'm a teacher.
- Das ist mein Freund Jonas.This is my friend Jonas.
- Wir sind müde.We're tired.
- Ich bin 32 Jahre alt.I'm 32 years old.
Haben (to have)
is only slightly irregular: and lose the b.
| Person | English | |
|---|---|---|
| I have | ||
| you have | ||
| / / | he / she / it has | |
| we have | ||
| you (all) have | ||
| / | they have / you have |
- Hast du Geschwister?Do you have any brothers or sisters?
- Wir haben ein Auto.We have a car.
“Have” where English says “be”
For some feelings and states, German uses with a noun where English uses “to be” with an adjective. Learn these as fixed phrases.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| I'm hungry. | |
| I'm thirsty. | |
| I'm busy. (I have no time.) | |
| You're right. | |
| I'm scared. | |
| We're lucky. |
In the past
In conversation, Germans usually use the simple past of and : (I was) and (I had). Both verbs are also the helping verbs for the Perfekt, the everyday past tense of most other verbs.
- Ich war gestern krank.I was ill yesterday.
- Wir hatten viel Spaß.We had a lot of fun.
- Sie ist nach Hause gegangen.She went home.