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Sein, haben, werden — The Three Pillars
⚙️ Sein, haben, werden — The Three Pillars
Sein (to be), haben (to have), and werden (to become/will) are the three most important verbs in German — they are both full verbs AND the key auxiliaries used to build other tenses. Add the six modal verbs and you unlock almost every tense and structure tested in AQA German (8662).
The Three Core Auxiliaries
These three verbs are highly irregular. Every form must be learnt individually — there are no shortcuts.
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- In writing tasks, using können / müssen / wollen correctly with an infinitive at the end = instant AO2 marks for grammatical complexity.
- werden as future: always pair it with a time marker to make the meaning clear — morgen, nächste Woche, bald.
- Use möchte in role-play tasks for polite requests — it sounds natural and examiners reward it as a mark of communicative range.
- In reading and listening, when you see or hear will in German, remember it means "wants to" — NOT "will" (future). Context and a time marker signal future meaning.
❌ Common error: Ich kann spielen Fußball.
✓ Correct: Ich kann Fußball spielen.
Why it costs marks: Modal verbs create a verb bracket (Satzklammer). The dependent infinitive must go to the END of the clause — placing it in the middle is the single most penalised word-order error in AQA German Writing. Examiners mark this as an AO3 (grammatical accuracy) error even when the meaning is clear.