Sein and Haben in General
The verbs „sein“ and „haben“ are very important
They are used in various situations including as a helping verb to construct certain tenses.
Conjugation
| Person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present Tense | Simple Past (Präteritum) | Present Tense | Simple Past (Präteritum) | |
| ich | bin | war | habe | hatte |
| du | bist | warst | hast | hattest |
| er/sie/es | ist | war | hat | hatte |
| wir | sind | waren | haben | hatten |
| ihr | seid | wart | habt | hattet |
| sie/Sie | sind | waren | haben | hatten |
| Present participle: seiend | Past participle: gewesen | Present participle: habend | Past participle: gehabt | |
Use: „Sein“ as a Main Verb
Used in combination with adjectives:
- „Du bist nett.“
- „Er ist arrogant.“
- „Ich bin schön.“
Used to identify things, people, and animals (name, nationality, job, …):
- „Das ist Sebastian.“
- „Leo ist ein Löwe.“
- „Ich bin Deutschlehrer.“
Used to indicate age, date, and time:
- „Sebastian ist 27 Jahre alt.“
- „Es ist schon 23 Uhr.“
- „Heute ist der 30. August.“
Use: „Haben“ as a Main Verb
Used to indicate possession:
- „Er hat ein Haus.“
- „Sie hat eine Puppe.“
- „Ich habe einen Fußball.“
Used to show that something is related to another noun:
- „Er hat Zeit.“
- „Sie hat lange Haare.“
- „Ich habe einen Bruder.“
Specific phrases with „haben“:
- „Ich habe Recht.“
- „Ich habe dich lieb.“
- „Er hat es eilig.“
„Haben/Sein“ as a Helping Verb
You can see when and how „haben“ and „sein“ are used as helping verbs by going through the lessons:
- Perfect tense
- Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt) und
- Passive
Further Information:
- You need the verbs „sein“ and „haben“ to form the Perfect Tense, the Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt) and the German Passive Voice.
- There are more special verbs in German: go through the lessons Modal Verbs, „Werden„ and „Lassen„ as well. All of them have some special rules that apply.
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