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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

sich anstrengen

to make an effort

  • #197 most used
  • Weak verb
  • Past participle: angestrengt

Conjugation

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

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

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

Simple past

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

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

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

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

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

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

  1. du make an effort!
  2. ihr make an effort! (all of you)
  3. Sie make an effort! (formal)

How to use sich anstrengen

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

  1. Present

    Er strengt sich in Mathe wirklich an.

    He really tries hard in maths.

  2. Simple past

    Sie strengte sich an, aber es reichte nicht.

    She made an effort, but it wasn't enough.

  3. Perfect

    Du hast dich sehr angestrengt, das sieht man.

    You've worked really hard, you can tell.

  4. Future

    Nächstes Semester werde ich mich mehr anstrengen.

    Next semester I'll make more of an effort.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde mich mehr anstrengen, wenn es sich lohnen würde.

    I'd try harder if it were worth it.

  6. Imperative

    Streng dich an, die Prüfung ist morgen!

    Make an effort, the exam is tomorrow!

Good to know

  • Anstrengend is tiring; sich anstrengen is trying hard, putting in effort.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: weak verb.