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GERMAN VERB

brennen

to burn

  • #421 most used
  • Mixed verb
  • Past participle: gebrannt

Conjugation

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

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

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

Simple past

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

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

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

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

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

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

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

How to use brennen

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

  1. Present

    Im Kamin brennt schon ein Feuer.

    There's already a fire burning in the fireplace.

  2. Simple past

    Das Licht im Flur brannte die ganze Nacht.

    The light in the hall burned all night.

  3. Perfect

    Die Kerze hat bis zum Morgen gebrannt.

    The candle burned until morning.

  4. Future

    Das Holz ist nass, es wird nicht brennen.

    The wood is wet, it won't burn.

  5. Conditional

    Trockenes Holz würde viel besser brennen.

    Dry wood would burn much better.

  6. Imperative

    Brenn für das, was du tust.

    Burn for what you do.

Good to know

  • Brennen is what the fire or the light does; anzünden is to light something, verbrennen to burn it up.
  • Für etwas brennen is to be passionate about it.

Where you hear brennen

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

German · Fluency Level 2

  • Das Holz brennt gut. The wood burns well.
  • Das alte Haus hat gebrannt. The old house burned.
  • Morgen brennt das Feuer wieder. Tomorrow the fire will burn again.
13
The Guide's Story

Fluency Level 2 · Die Nacht war hell. Die Stadt brannte.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: mixed verb.