Step one - Personal pronouns
Pronouns refer to who you are talking about in a sentence.
| Person | German pronoun | English pronoun |
| First person singular | ich | I |
| Second person singular (informal) | du | you |
| Third person singular (masculine) | er/Felix | he/Felix |
| Third person singular (feminine) | sie/Anja | she/Anja |
| Third person singular (neuter) | es | it |
| First person plural | wir | we |
| Second person plural (informal) | ihr | you |
| Second person plural (formal) | Sie | you |
| Third person plural | sie/Felix und Anja | they/Felix and Anja |
| Person | First person singular |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | ich |
| English pronoun | I |
| Person | Second person singular (informal) |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | du |
| English pronoun | you |
| Person | Third person singular (masculine) |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | er/Felix |
| English pronoun | he/Felix |
| Person | Third person singular (feminine) |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | sie/Anja |
| English pronoun | she/Anja |
| Person | Third person singular (neuter) |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | es |
| English pronoun | it |
| Person | First person plural |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | wir |
| English pronoun | we |
| Person | Second person plural (informal) |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | ihr |
| English pronoun | you |
| Person | Second person plural (formal) |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | Sie |
| English pronoun | you |
| Person | Third person plural |
|---|---|
| German pronoun | sie/Felix und Anja |
| English pronoun | they/Felix and Anja |
Step two - Using 'werden'
The verb werden is a An irregular verb, which does not follow the usual weak or regular pattern for the du and er/sie/es forms, as they take a stem change., and its stem changes for the second and third person singular - du and er/sie/es. Used on its own, werden means 'to become' or 'to get', but when used as an A 'helping' verb that is used to form the perfect tense. It goes with the past participle and is the verb which stays in the second position in the sentence. The auxiliary verbs in German are haben and sein. with the infinitive, its meaning changes to the future - 'will' or 'going to'.
| Form of werden | Translation |
| ich werde… | I will… |
| du wirst… | you will… |
| er/Felix wird… | he/Felix will… |
| sie/Anja wird… | she/Anja will… |
| es wird… | it will… |
| wir werden… | we will… |
| ihr werdet… | you will… |
| Sie werden… | you will… |
| sie/Felix und Anja werden… | They/Felix and Anja will… |
| Form of werden | ich werde… |
|---|---|
| Translation | I will… |
| Form of werden | du wirst… |
|---|---|
| Translation | you will… |
| Form of werden | er/Felix wird… |
|---|---|
| Translation | he/Felix will… |
| Form of werden | sie/Anja wird… |
|---|---|
| Translation | she/Anja will… |
| Form of werden | es wird… |
|---|---|
| Translation | it will… |
| Form of werden | wir werden… |
|---|---|
| Translation | we will… |
| Form of werden | ihr werdet… |
|---|---|
| Translation | you will… |
| Form of werden | Sie werden… |
|---|---|
| Translation | you will… |
| Form of werden | sie/Felix und Anja werden… |
|---|---|
| Translation | They/Felix and Anja will… |
Step three - Using infinitives
Infinitives are the forms of the verb that you find in the dictionary. They are the fullest form of the verb, before you take off endings to form different tenses. All infinitives in English start with the word 'to' in front of them, whereas all infinitives in German end in either -en or -n.
Here are some examples of how to form the future tense using werden and an infinitive:
- Sie wird heute Abend Lachs mit Salat essen. – She's going to eat salmon with salad this evening.
- Wir werden zusammen in einer Band spielen. – We're going to play together in a band.
- Ich werde meine Traumfrau heiraten und als Schauspieler arbeiten. - I will marry my dream woman and work as an actor.
Ich werde stehen und warten. Ich werde mĂĽde werden. Ich werde nicht einschlafen. Ich werde sterben. - I will stand and wait. I will become tired. I will not fall asleep. I will die.