HabenVerben

HabenVerben are verbs that form the Perfekt (present perfect) with the auxiliary verb haben. They constitute the large majority of German verbs and typically include transitive verbs as well as many intransitive verbs that do not express a change of location or state. By contrast, a smaller group of verbs uses sein as the auxiliary in the Perfekt, usually indicating movement or a change of state.

In forming the Perfekt, haben is conjugated in the present tense and is combined with the past participle of the main verb. The past participle appears at the end of the clause. Examples include Ich habe gearbeitet, Du hast gelesen, Er hat gesehen. Past participles commonly end in -t for weak verbs (gearbeitet) and in -en or irregular forms for strong verbs (gesehen, geschrieben).

Typical habenVerben are largely transitive and many intransitives that do not signify a movement or change of state. Common examples are arbeiten, lernen, machen, lesen, schreiben, trinken, bekommen. Some verbs can take either auxiliary, depending on meaning: for example, fahren can take sein when referring to traveling by vehicle (Ich bin gefahren), but haben when focusing on the act of driving the vehicle (Ich habe das Auto gefahren). This dual usage is a nuance learners encounter, and dictionaries often note the possible auxiliaries.

Usage notes: In everyday speech, Perfekt with haben is the dominant past tense for most verbs, whereas Präteritum (simple past) is more common in written language for many verbs. The choice of auxiliary does not affect the past participle form, only which auxiliary is used.