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Conjugation of Werden - ‘to become’ - German
The verb werden is a multi-use verb, which means “to become” and “to get” (as in ‘to get older’) and “to end up” and “shall” and “will”. All sorts of words in English which describe a change into the future can be translated into “werden.”
It is also an irregular verb. This means that it doesn’t follow the rules for making a verb present tense.
As with all irregular verbs, it’s most helpful to just memorise the different conjugations of ‘werden.’
As you’ll remember from our article on the verb sein,‘conjugations’ are the different forms of the verb to put them into a tense.
Present Tense (Präsenz)
| Pronoun |
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
English |
| ich |
werde |
ikh v-air-duh
ish v-air-duh |
I become |
| du |
wirst |
doo vurst |
you become (singular, informal) |
| er |
wird |
air vurt |
he becomes |
| sie |
wird |
zee vurt |
she becomes |
| es |
wird |
ess vurt |
it becomes |
| wir |
werden |
veer v-air-den |
we become |
| ihr |
werdet |
veer v-air-den |
you are (plural, informal) |
| sie |
werden |
zee v-air-den |
they become |
| Sie' |
werden |
zee v-air-den |
you become (formal) |
* This Sie (the formal ‘you’) requires a capital letter.
Pronunciation
Let’s look at how we pronounce some of these words.
(For some tips on pronouncing the pronouns, such as ‘ich’ and ‘du’ please check out our article on the conjugation of sein.)
Werde
A German ‘w’ is usually pronounced like an English ‘v’ as in ‘vine.’
an -er together is pronounced as in the English word ‘air’
And ‘e’ at the end of a word is pronounced as ‘u’ as in the beginning of ‘up’ or ‘us’.
Wird
A German ‘ir’ is pronounced ‘ur’ as in ‘purr’ or the ‘ir’ in the English word ‘stir’
Uses
The most common use of ‘werden’ in the present tense is to make the future tense. ‘I am going to do something.’
You do this by using the present tense of ‘werden’ and combining it with the infinitive of another verb, which goes to the end of your clause.
Short Examples
Ich werde Federball spielen. I am going to play badminton.
Du wirst ‘Die Verwandlung’ lesen. You are going to read ‘The Metamorphosis.’
Er wird Musik hören. He is going to listen to music.
Wir werden dich vermissen. We are going to miss you.
Ihr werdet Mutter und Vater sein. You are going to be mother and father.
Sie werden Pizza essen. They are going to eat pizza.
Sie werden Tee trinken. You are going to drink tea.
Imperfect Tense (Imperfekt)
| Pronoun |
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
English |
| ich |
wurde |
ikh voorduh
ish voorduh
|
I became |
| du |
wurdest |
doo voordust |
you became |
| er |
wurde |
air voorduh |
he became |
| sie |
wurde |
zee voorduh |
she became |
| es |
wurde |
ess voorduh |
it became |
| wir |
wurden |
veer voordun |
we became |
| ihr |
wurdet |
eer voordut |
you became (plural, informal) |
| sie |
wurden |
zee voordun |
they became |
| Sie |
wurden |
zee voordun |
you became (formal) |
The imperfect tense is used far more often in writing than in speaking. Documents, novels and reports are all (usually) written in the imperfect tense. It is used to describe single, specific events that happened in the past.
Short Examples
Ich wurde witzig. I became witty.
Du wurdest sportlich. You became sporty.
Er wurde freundlich. He became friendly.
Sie wurde begabt. She became talented.
Es wurde gierig. It became greedy.
Wir wurden klug. We became smart.
Ihr wurdet gesprächig. You became chatty.
Sie wurden faul. They became lazy.
Sie wurden froh. You became happy.
Perfect Tense (Perfekt)
| Pronoun |
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
English |
| ich |
bin geworden
|
ikh bin guhvordun
ish bin guhvordun
|
I have become |
| du |
bist geworden
|
doo bist guhvordun
|
you have become (singular, informal) |
| er |
ist geworden
|
air ist guhvordun
|
he has become
|
| sie |
ist geworden
|
zee ist guhvordun
|
she has become
|
| es |
ist geworden
|
ess ist guhvordun
|
it has become
|
| wir |
sind geworden |
veer zint guhvordun
|
we have become
|
| ihr |
seid geworden |
eer zide guhvordun
|
you have become (plural, informal)
|
| sie |
sind geworden |
zee zint guhvordun
|
they have become
|
| Sie |
sind geworden
|
zee zint guhvordun
|
you have become (formal) |
The perfect tense is the version of the past tense that we use most often in speaking, and is the default past tense used in letters and emails. It is specifically used to describe something that you did, but have done often and will probably do again.
If in doubt between the imperfect and perfect tenses, use the perfect. It is far more common in German and will sound less strange if you’ve chosen the wrong one.
Notice that all of these conjugations are actually the present tense of ‘sein’ and then the past participle ‘gewesen’ (which stays the same for every person.) That makes this quite easy to remember.
In the translations above, we have worked with the English ‘have/has been’ to help you remember the difference between Perfekt and Imperfekt. However, you can also use ‘was’ to translate the Imperfekt into English. Use whichever translation seems most natural.
Short Examples
Ich bin witzig geworden. I have become witty.
Du bist sportlich geworden. You have become sporty.
Er ist freundlich geworden. He has become friendly.
Sie ist begabt geworden. She has become talented.
Es ist gierig geworden. It has become greedy.
Wir sind klug geworden. We have become smart.
Ihr seid gesprächig geworden. You have become chatty.
Sie sind faul geworden. They have become lazy.
Sie sind froh geworden. You have become happy.
In these examples, we have put the adjective in the middle of the ‘bin geworden’ phrase. This is because a German past participle always comes at the end of the clause.
Pluperfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)
| Pronoun |
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
English |
| ich |
war geworden |
ikh var guhvordun
ish var guhvordun
|
I will be |
| du |
warst geworden |
doo varst guhvordun
|
you had become (singular, informal) |
| er |
war geworden
|
air var guhvordun
|
he had become
|
| sie |
war geworden
|
zee var guhvordun
|
she had become
|
| es |
war geworden
|
ess var guhvordun
|
it had become
|
| wir |
waren geworden
|
veer varen guhvordun
/td>
| we had become
|
| ihr |
wart geworden
|
eer vart guhvordun
|
you had become (plural, informal)
|
| sie |
waren geworden
|
zee varen guhvordun
|
they had become
|
| Sie |
waren geworden
|
zee varen guhvordun
|
you had become (formal)
|
Notice that all of these conjugations use the imperfect tense of ‘sein’ and then the past participle 'geworden.’
The pluperfect is used to describe an event that happened before another event in the past. It’s one step further back in time than the perfect and imperfect tenses. An example in English would be:
I had studied (pluperfect) German for three years before I moved (perfect) to Switzerland.
Short examples
Ich war witzig geworden. I had become witty.
Du warst sportlich geworden. You had become sporty.
Er war freundlich geworden. He had become friendly.
Sie war begabt geworden. She had become talented.
Es war gierig geworden. It had become greedy.
Wir waren klug geworden. We had become smart.
Ihr wart gesprächig geworden. You had become chatty.
Sie waren faul geworden. They had become lazy.
Sie waren froh geworden. You had become happy.
Future Tense (Futur)
| Pronoun |
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
English |
| ich |
werde werden
|
ikh v-air-duh v-air-den
ish v-air-duh v-air-den
|
I will become
|
| du |
wirst werden
|
doo vurst v-air-den
|
you will become (singular, informal)
|
| er |
wird werden
|
he will become
|
wird werden
|
| sie |
wird werden
|
zee vert v-air-den
|
she will become
|
| es |
wird werden
|
ess vert v-air-den
|
it will become
|
| wir |
werden werden
|
veer v-air-den v-air-den
|
we will become
|
| ihr |
werdet werden
|
eer v-air-det v-air-den
|
you will become (plural, informal)
|
| sie |
werden werden
|
zee v-air-den v-air-den
|
they will become
|
| Sie |
werden werden
|
zee v-air-den v-air-den
|
you will become (formal)
|
Short examples
Ich werde witzig werden. I will become witty.
Du wirst sportlich werden. You will become sporty.
Er wird freundlich werden. He will become friendly.
Sie wird begabt werden. She will become talented.
Es wird gierig werden. It will become greedy.
Wir werden klug werden. We will become smart.
Ihr werdet gesprächig werden. You will become chatty.
Sie werden faul werden. They will become lazy.
Sie werden froh werden. You will become happy.
Future Perfect Tense (Futur II)
The German ‘Futur II’ combines all the forms of ‘werden’ we’ve looked at so far. While that can make it intimidating to use at first (because it feels like there’s a lot to remember) it also makes it one of the easiest tenses to remember, because we’ve already learned the different parts.
| Pronoun |
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
English |
| ich |
werde geworden sein
|
ikh verde guhvordun z-eye-n
ish verde guhvordun z-eye-n
|
I will have become
|
| du |
wirst geworden sein
|
doo vurst guhvordun z-eye-n
|
you will have become (singular, informal)
|
| er |
wird geworden sein
|
air vert guhvordun z-eye-n
|
he will have become
|
| sie |
wird geworden sein
|
zee vert guhvordun z-eye-n
|
she will have become
|
| es |
wird geworden sein
|
ess vert guhvordun z-eye-n
|
it will have become
|
| wir |
werden geworden sein
|
veer verden guhvordun z-eye-n
|
we will have become
|
| ihr |
werdet geworden sein
|
eer verdet guhvordun z-eye-n
|
you will have become (plural, informal)
|
| sie |
werden geworden sein
|
zee verden guhvordun z-eye-n
|
they will have become
|
| Sie |
werden geworden sein
|
zee verden guhvordun z-eye-n
|
you will have become (formal)
|
We use the future perfect to describe an action that will have been completed some time in the future. German always uses a time expression when using the future tense in this way. An example of this in English might be:
I will have studied German for three years, before I move to Switzerland.
Short examples
Ich werde witzig geworden sein. I will have become witty.
Du wirst sportlich geworden sein. You will have become sporty.
Er wird freundlich geworden sein. He will have become friendly.
Sie wird begabt geworden sein. She will have become talented.
Es wird gierig geworden sein. It will have become greedy.
Wir werden klug geworden sein. We will have become smart.
Ihr werdet gesprächig geworden sein. You will have become chatty.
Sie werden faul geworden sein. They will have become lazy.
Sie werden froh geworden sein. You will have become happy.
And those are all six conjugations of the verb ‘werden’ and as a bonus, you learned the rules for forming the future tense. So as you explore our catalogue of verb conjugation articles, keep an eye on the Futur I forms, which will help you revise the present tense of werden.
Darren has been a language teacher for sixteen years, and has taught all ages from pre-school to adults. He has been a German speaker since he was 12 years old.
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Rónán
I'm the founder of Deutsch Gym. In the past I've worked in startups as a marketer and frontend developer and surfed a few waves along the way. I moved to Berlin from Ireland a few years ago and learned German - prompting the idea for Deutsch Gym.
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