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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

essen

to eat

  • #101 most used
  • Strong verb
  • Past participle: gegessen

Conjugation

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

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

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

Simple past

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

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

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

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

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

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

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

How to use essen

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

  1. Present

    Isst du gern Fisch?

    Do you like eating fish?

  2. Simple past

    Wir aßen gestern beim Italiener.

    We ate at the Italian place yesterday.

  3. Perfect

    Hast du schon zu Mittag gegessen?

    Have you had lunch yet?

  4. Future

    Heute Abend werden wir bei meinen Eltern essen.

    Tonight we'll eat at my parents'.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde jetzt gern etwas Warmes essen.

    I'd like to eat something warm now.

  6. Imperative

    Iss noch etwas, du hast kaum gegessen.

    Eat some more, you've hardly eaten.

Good to know

  • Essen gehen is to eat out; zu Mittag essen, to have lunch; zu Abend essen, to have dinner.
  • Das Essen is also the food or the meal: das Essen ist fertig.

Where you hear essen

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

German · Beginner Level 1

  • Ich esse kein Fleisch. I don't eat meat.
  • Am Samstag habe ich eine Currywurst gegessen. On Saturday I ate a currywurst.
  • Morgen esse ich wieder in der Kantine. Tomorrow I'll eat in the canteen again.

German · Beginner Level 2

  • Ich esse kein Fleisch. I don't eat meat.
  • Am Samstag habe ich eine Currywurst gegessen. On Saturday I ate a currywurst.
  • Morgen esse ich wieder in der Kantine. Tomorrow I'll eat in the canteen again.
21
Lunchtime

Beginner Level 1 · Ich esse kein Fleisch.

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What Did You Do Yesterday?

Beginner Level 1 · Ich habe Kuchen gegessen.

Needs a subscription 20
The Invitation to Christmas Eve

Beginner Level 2 · Um sechs. Wir essen zusammen.

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Christmas Eve

Beginner Level 2 · Lecker! Das esse ich gern.

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The Fish Market

Beginner Level 3 · Mit Zwiebeln. Ich habe noch nie eins gegessen.

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Back to Berlin

Intermediate Level 3 · Nachdem wir gegessen hatten. · Und nachdem wir die Torte gegessen hatten?

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Welcome to the Rhine

Fluency Level 2 · Gern. Was isst man hier? Weck?

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: strong verb.