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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

beobachten

to observe, to watch

  • #268 most used
  • Weak verb
  • Past participle: beobachtet

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

  1. ich I observe
  2. du you observe
  3. er, sie, es he/she observes
  4. wir we observe
  5. ihr you all observe
  6. sie, Sie they observe

Simple past

Präteritum · the past of writing, and of sein, haben and the modals in speech

  1. ich I observed
  2. du you observed
  3. er, sie, es he/she observed
  4. wir we observed
  5. ihr you all observed
  6. sie, Sie they observed

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

  1. ich I have observed
  2. du you have observed
  3. er, sie, es he/she has observed
  4. wir we have observed
  5. ihr you all have observed
  6. sie, Sie they have observed

Future

Futur I · “werden”; in speech the present with “morgen” does the job

  1. ich I will observe
  2. du you will observe
  3. er, sie, es he/she will observe
  4. wir we will observe
  5. ihr you all will observe
  6. sie, Sie they will observe

Conditional

Konjunktiv II · “would”: “würde”, and “wäre”, “hätte”, “könnte”

  1. ich I would observe
  2. du you would observe
  3. er, sie, es he/she would observe
  4. wir we would observe
  5. ihr you all would observe
  6. sie, Sie they would observe

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

  1. du observe!
  2. ihr observe! (all of you)
  3. Sie observe! (formal)

How to use beobachten

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Wir beobachten die Vögel vom Fenster aus.

    We watch the birds from the window.

  2. Simple past

    Der Polizist beobachtete das Haus die ganze Nacht.

    The policeman watched the house all night.

  3. Perfect

    Ich habe dich beim Tanzen beobachtet.

    I watched you dancing.

  4. Future

    Die Ärzte werden ihn noch ein paar Tage beobachten.

    The doctors will keep an eye on him a few more days.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde den Hund erst mal beobachten, bevor ich ihn streichle.

    I'd watch the dog first before I pet him.

  6. Imperative

    Beobachte den Himmel, gleich kommt der Mond.

    Watch the sky, the moon's about to come out.

Good to know

  • Beobachten is watching closely over time, birds, people, the weather; a film you "anschauen".

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: weak verb.