erfindest

Erfindest is the second-person singular present tense form of the German verb erfinden, meaning to invent or to devise. It is used with the informal pronoun du and appears in statements such as Du erfindest eine neue Geschichte or in questions like Was erfindest du? The form signals that the subject is you who are performing the invention or creation.

Conjugation overview:

- Infinitive: erfinden

- Present (indicative): ich erfinde, du erfindest, er erfindet, wir erfinden, ihr erfindet, sie erfinden

- Simple past (Präteritum): ich erfand, du erfandst, er erfand, wir erfanden, ihr erfandet, sie erfanden

- Past participle: erfunden

- Perfect (with haben): ich habe erfunden, du hast erfunden, er hat erfunden, etc.

Usage notes:

Erfinden is a regular German verb in its present tense patterns, with the prefix er- attached to finden in both semantics and form. The prefix er- here is not separable, so forms like erfindest are written as a single word. The sense of erfinden has broadened from “to find” to “to devise or create something new.” In practice, erfinden often conveys the act of conceiving a novel idea, invention, or plan, rather than merely discovering something that already exists.

Related terms:

- Erfindung (noun): invention

- Erfinder (noun): inventor

In summary, erfindest is the familiar second-person form used to say “you invent” in everyday German, and it sits within a broader set of verb forms that express invention and creativity.