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Das Präsens — The Blueprint
📐 Das Präsens — The Blueprint
Once you know the 6 endings for regular verbs, you can conjugate hundreds of German verbs. This is the blueprint you will use every time you write or speak German — learn it once and it pays dividends across every GCSE task.
Die schwachen Verben — Regular Weak Verbs
Regular (weak) verbs follow a completely predictable pattern. Take the infinitive, remove -en to get the stem, then add the ending for the person you need.
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- When writing, check every verb ends correctly for the person you have chosen — the er/sie/es -t ending is the most commonly dropped.
- In reading and listening, a -t on a verb could be er/sie/es or ihr — the subject (a name or pronoun) in the sentence tells you which it is.
- hören = to hear / listen to. The ö is part of the stem and never changes: ich höre, er hört — the umlaut stays in every form.
- In speaking and writing tasks, using a variety of persons (not only ich) scores higher marks for range. Try adding one sentence with er/sie, wir, or man.
❌ Common error: Er kauf ein Buch.
✓ Correct: Er kauft ein Buch.
Why it costs marks: The er/sie/es form of every regular verb always needs the -t ending. Missing the -t on er kauf- is one of the most penalised errors in AQA German Writing (AO3). Examiners report this in mark-scheme commentaries every year — it signals a fundamental gap in knowledge of the present tense.