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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

erfinden

to invent

  • #342 most used
  • Strong verb
  • Past participle: erfunden

Conjugation

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

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

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

Simple past

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

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

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

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

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

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

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

How to use erfinden

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

  1. Present

    Meine Tochter erfindet ständig neue Spiele.

    My daughter is constantly inventing new games.

  2. Simple past

    Wer erfand eigentlich das Telefon?

    Who actually invented the telephone?

  3. Perfect

    Die Geschichte hat er komplett erfunden.

    He made the story up completely.

  4. Future

    Irgendwann wird jemand das erfinden.

    Someday someone will invent that.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde eine Maschine zum Bügeln erfinden.

    I would invent a machine for ironing.

  6. Imperative

    Erfinde keine Ausreden, sag die Wahrheit.

    Don't make up excuses, tell the truth.

Good to know

  • Erfinden is also to make up a story: das hat er erfunden.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: strong verb.