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Strong Verbs in the Present Tense

Many common German verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms of the present tense. These are called strong verbs and must be learnt individually.

Last updated: 16 January 2026

★★★☆☆ Level 3germanGrammarTensesstrong-verbsvowel-changepraesens4 min read

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What are Strong Verbs?

Strong verbs are verbs that change their stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms of the present tense. They are sometimes called irregular verbs.

The change is called Vokalwechsel (vowel change).

Common Vowel Changes

ChangeExample verbMeaning
a → äfahrento drive/travel
e → isprechento speak
e → ielesento read
au → äulaufento run

Conjugation Examples

fahren (a → ä)

Personfahren
ichfahre
dufährst
er/sie/esfährt
wirfahren
ihrfahrt
sie/Siefahren

sprechen (e → i)

Personsprechen
ichspreche
dusprichst
er/sie/esspricht
wirsprechen
ihrsprecht
sie/Siesprechen

lesen (e → ie)

Personlesen
ichlese
duliest
er/sie/esliest
wirlesen
ihrlest
sie/Sielesen
Note

Only the du and er/sie/es forms change. All other forms use the normal stem.

More Common Strong Verbs

Infinitiveduer/sie/esMeaning
gebengibstgibtto give
nehmennimmstnimmtto take
sehensiehstsiehtto see
essenisstisstto eat
werfenwirfstwirftto throw
treffentriffsttrifftto meet
laufenläufstläuftto run
schlafenschläfstschläftto sleep

Using strong verbs in sentences

  • Er fährt mit dem Zug nach MĂźnchen. (He travels to Munich by train.)
  • Sie liest ein interessantes Buch. (She is reading an interesting book.)
  • Was isst du zum FrĂźhstĂźck? (What do you eat for breakfast?)

Real world: train and bus announcements

Strong verbs appear constantly in German transport announcements: „Der Zug fährt auf Gleis 5 ein." (The train is arriving at platform 5 — fahren → fährt, a → ä.) „Dieser Bus hält hier nicht." (This bus does not stop here — halten → hält.) The vowel change is an essential part of understanding spoken German at stations and airports.

Real world: news headlines

German news headlines frequently use strong verbs in the present tense: „Bundeskanzler spricht in Berlin." (sprechen → spricht, e → i.) „Neuer Zug fährt zwischen München und Hamburg." „Schüler lesen mehr als früher." — plural lesen (no change) vs. singular liest (e → ie change).

Real world: everyday shopping and eating

The verbs geben, nehmen, essen and sehen are among the most commonly used in shops and restaurants: „Was gibst du mir dafür?" (What will you give me for it?) „Nimm das Brot!" (Take the bread!) „Was isst du zum Frühstück?" (What do you eat for breakfast?) — all e → i vowel changes.

Tip

Strong verb vowel changes only affect du and er/sie/es. All other persons (ich, wir, ihr, sie/Sie) use the normal infinitive stem. If you learn the du and er forms, you have mastered the stem change — the rest is regular conjugation.

Practice Problems

Conjugate 'sehen' (to see) for 'du' and 'er'.

Show answer
du siehst, er sieht — vowel change e → ie in both du and er/sie/es forms.

Fill in: 'Er ___ (schlafen) schon um 9 Uhr.'

Show answer
Er schläft schon um 9 Uhr. — vowel change a → ä in the er form.

Why does 'wir fahren' not change its vowel, but 'er fährt' does?

Show answer
Strong verbs only change their vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms. All other persons use the infinitive stem — so 'wir fahren' uses the regular stem.