Verben

Verben (English: verbs) are a word class that expresses actions, events, or states and function as the predicate core of a clause. In German linguistics, Verben are highly inflected and encode information about tense, aspect, mood, voice, person, and number. They appear in finite forms for the subject and combine with auxiliary verbs to form compound tenses and passive voice.

Non-finite forms include the infinitive and participles: the past participle (Partizip II) and the present participle (Partizip I). German Verben are subdivided into main verbs and auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs such as haben, sein, and werden help construct perfect tenses and the passive. Verbs may take prefixes that alter meaning; separable prefixes (e.g., aufstehen) and inseparable prefixes (e.g., verstehen) influence the verb’s syntax and semantics.

Morphological classes include strong (irregular), weak (regular), and mixed verbs. Modal verbs (können, müssen, sollen, wollen, dürfen, mögen) express modality and typically govern the main verb in a sentence.

In syntax, German has a limited but important word order: the finite verb typically occupies the second position in main clauses (V2), while in subordinate clauses it often moves to the end. The subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv I/II) expresses reported speech and hypothetical situations; the imperative gives commands.

Verben share a central role across languages, but their inflectional systems and use of auxiliary constructions vary. They remain the core around which tense, aspect, voice, and sentence structure revolve.