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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

schimpfen

to scold, to grumble

  • #494 most used
  • Weak verb
  • Past participle: geschimpft

Conjugation

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

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

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

Simple past

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

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

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

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

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

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

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

How to use schimpfen

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

  1. Present

    Opa schimpft jeden Morgen über das Wetter.

    Grandpa grumbles about the weather every morning.

  2. Simple past

    Die Mutter schimpfte mit den Kindern.

    The mother told the children off.

  3. Perfect

    Der Fahrer hat laut auf den Stau geschimpft.

    The driver grumbled loudly about the traffic jam.

  4. Future

    Mama wird schimpfen, wenn sie das Zimmer sieht.

    Mum will scold us when she sees the room.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde nicht schimpfen, es war ein Versehen.

    I wouldn't scold him, it was an accident.

  6. Imperative

    Schimpf nicht mit ihm, er ist noch klein.

    Don't scold him, he's still little.

Good to know

  • Schimpfen mit jemandem is to tell someone off; schimpfen über or auf etwas is to grumble about it.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: weak verb.