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GERMAN VERB

sich kümmern

to look after

  • #169 most used
  • Weak verb
  • Past participle: gekümmert

Conjugation

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

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

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

Simple past

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

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

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

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

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

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

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

How to use sich kümmern

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

  1. Present

    Wer kümmert sich um die Katze im Urlaub?

    Who's looking after the cat during the holiday?

  2. Simple past

    Meine Mutter kümmerte sich jahrelang um Opa.

    My mother looked after Grandpa for years.

  3. Perfect

    Ich habe mich schon um die Tickets gekümmert.

    I've already taken care of the tickets.

  4. Future

    Ich werde mich morgen darum kümmern.

    I'll deal with it tomorrow.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde mich gern mehr um den Garten kümmern.

    I'd like to look after the garden more.

  6. Imperative

    Kümmere dich um deine eigenen Sachen!

    Mind your own business!

Good to know

  • Sich kümmern um is to take care of someone or something; ich kümmere mich darum, I'll take care of it.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: weak verb.