Learning ‘geben’ is tricky because German verbs have more conjugation options compared to English verbs –so there’s more that our brains have to remember!
Key Takeaways
- ‘Geben’ (‘to give’) is a commonly used infinitive verb in German.
- there are more ‘geben’ conjugation options than what we have in English.
- you need to learn ‘geben’ conjugations for multiple tenses and moods.
How is ‘Geben’ Used in German?
Knowing how to correctly use ‘geben’ in its many diverse forms allows you to speak masterfully in German in a wide variety of contexts.
‘Geben’ allows you to talk about yourself and others ‘giving’ (I gave her a gift/He gives his all/, etc.) in all manner of situations past, present, future, and hypothetical.
You’ll use ‘geben’ in order to …
- ✅ Talk about what / how / when / etc. someone is giving.
- ✅ Utilize certain idioms and other common figures of speech.
- ✅ Say that someone gives, gave, will have given, will give, etc.
What Are The 6 Conjugations of ‘Geben’?
The 6 conjugations of ‘geben’ in the present tense line up with our 6 subject pronouns to give us ‘ich gebe’, ‘du gibst’, ‘er / sie / es gibt’, ‘wir geben’, ‘ihr gebt’, and ‘sie geben.’
There are, of course, even more forms of ‘geben’ in other tenses (and moods).
But it’s best to first focus strictly on the present tense conjugations of ‘geben’, so let’s look at it side-by-side with the English ‘to give’:
‘Geben’ (in English)
| I give |
| you give |
| he/she/it gives |
| we give |
| they give |
‘Geben’ in German is ‘to give’ in English. And in the present tense, we have two possible conjugations: ‘give, and ‘gives’.
In the case of ‘give’, it is recycled –that is, it’s used with multiple different pronouns (i.e. I, you, we, they). It’s only he/she/it that uses its own unique conjugation ‘gives’.
Those same conjugations in German look like this:
‘Geben’ (Present Tense) English vs German
Comparing German & English
It’s important to notice the patterns of similarities and differences at this point.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Where does German ‘recycle’ the same conjugations?
- Are the German & English changes to ‘geben’ (to give) occurring with equivalent pronouns?
- Which language includes more changes compared to the other?
‘Geben’ in the Present Tense
The present tense conjugations of ‘geben’ are ich gebe, du gibst, er / sie / es gibt, wir geben, ihr gebt, and sie geben.
Put into a typical conjugation table, these options are presented like this:
Present Tense Conjugation Chart:
| ich gebe | wir geben |
| du gibst | ihr gebt |
| er/sie/es gibt | sie geben |
You truly haven’t even begun to learn ‘geben’ until you know ALL the nominative case pronouns and which form of ‘geben’ each of them takes.
To talk about the conjugations of ‘geben’ used by the various pronouns, we have to work backward by starting with the pronouns.
And in order to understand nominative case (i.e. subject) pronouns, we need to talk about the grammar concept of ‘persons’.
What are ‘persons’?
The ‘persons’ (I, you, they, etc.) are split into two categories that interact with each other:
There are 3 subcategories of ‘persons’ (1st Person, 2nd Person, and 3rd Person) and each of these has a ‘singular’ and a ‘plural’ variant.
When we intersect this information on Y and X axes, we get these ultra-familiar English subject pronouns:
English Subject Pronouns Chart
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | I | we |
| 2nd | you | you |
| 3rd | he/she/it | they |
Now, here is the German version of the same table of subject pronouns:
German Subject Pronouns Chart
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ich | wir |
| 2nd | du | ihr |
| 3rd | er/sie/es | sie |
German & English Pronouns Side-by-Side
Where do English and German line up and where are there differences?
English and German have 1-to-1 equivalents for all pronouns … except that German has extra pronouns for ‘you’ (highlighted).
FULL German Subject Pronouns Chart
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ich | wir |
| 2nd (informal) | du | ihr |
| (formal) | Sie | Sie |
| 3rd | er/sie/es | sie |
Understanding the ‘ihr’ plural of ‘du’ is straightforward enough: Americans might relate it to the concept of y’all. We’re simply talking to multiple ‘you’s at the same time.
But what is the deal with the singular and plural ‘Sie’?
Formal vs. Informal ‘You’
If you took high school Spanish, you’ve already been exposed to the idea of ‘you’ having an informal version and a formal version (e.g. ‘tu’ [informal] and ‘Usted’ [formal]).
It’s the exact same idea in German.
We need to use the formal ‘you’ when we address …
- someone we don’t intimately know
- someone to whom we want to show additional respect
- someone in a relative position of authority
Of course, these separate categories have some obvious potential overlaps in that many times we perceive others as authority figures whom we also genuinely respect and with whom we wouldn’t go out to a pub for a beer because we don’t know them intimately enough.
When to Use the Formal ‘Sie’
As you can see in the table, if you’re using the formal address ‘Sie’, it doesn’t matter if you’re talking to one person or multiple –the pronoun AND its conjugation of ‘geben’ stays the same:
German Subject Pronoun & ‘Geben’ Conjugations Chart:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | Ich gebe | wir geben |
| 2nd (informal) | du gibst | ihr gebt |
| (formal) | Sie geben | Sie geben |
| 3rd | er/sie/es gibt | sie geben |
In German, you generally need to use this formal version of ‘you’ if you’re talking with…
- professionals (e.g. clerks, police officers, doctors, plumbers, etc.)
- leaders (e.g. priests, politicians, choir directors, bosses, etc.)
- elders (e.g. anyone clearly at least a generation older than you are)
Examples of ‘Geben’
Knowing how to use ‘geben’ in the present tense for all the 1st, 2nd (formal and informal) and 3rd persons, singular and plural, is exactly what you should know for now.
1st Person, Singular & Plural
Ich gebe dem Jungen das Geld. (I give the boy the money.)
Ich gebe dem Jungen einen Tipp. (I give the boy a hint.)
Wir geben dem Jungen das Geld. (We give the boy the money.)
Wir geben dem Jungen einen Tipp. (We give the boy a hint.)
2nd Person (Informal), Singular & Plural
Du gibst dem Jungen das Geld. (You give the boy the money.)
Du gibst dem Jungen einen Tipp. (You give the boy a hint.)
Ihr gebt dem Jungen das Geld. (You give the boy the money.)
Ihr gebt dem Jungen einen Tipp. (You give the boy a hint.)
2nd Person (Formal), Singular & Plural
Sie geben dem Jungen das Geld. (You give the boy the money.)
Sie geben dem Jungen einen Tipp. (You give the boy a hint.)
Sie geben dem Jungen das Geld. (You give the boy the money.)
Sie geben dem Jungen einen Tipp. (You give the boy a hint.)
3rd Person, Singular & Plural
Die Verkäuferin gibt dem Jungen das Geld. (The saleswoman gives the boy the money.)
Die Verkäuferin gibt dem Jungen einen Tipp. (The saleswoman gives the boy a hint.)
Die Verkäuferinnen geben das Geld. (The saleswomen give the boy the money.)
Die Verkäuferinnen geben dem Jungen einen Tipp. (The saleswomen give the boy a hint.)
Learning all of this is a big task for almost every German learner.
I’ll teach you step-by-step.
Comparing German & English
There are several interesting points to make on the above examples so that you can further your general knowledge of German beyond specifics of ‘geben’.
- You can see in various examples that ‘die’, ‘dem’, and ‘das’ all translate to ‘the’ in English. Learn more about German noun gender here.
- Almost every English noun pluralizes simply with ‘s’ (e.g. doctor -> doctors), but German has SEVEN different options that we have to know how to choose between! You may have noticed specifically the -en plural at play in ‘Verkäuferin’ (saleswoman) -> ‘Verkäuferinnen’ (saleswomen). Learn more about German noun plurals here.
- ‘Der Junge’ (the boy) is an example of a so-called ‘weak’ masculine noun that actually gets declined (just like determiners and adjectives) in all cases except the nominative. Learn more about declensions here.
Skills You’ll Need to Use ‘Geben’ Conjugations:
‘Geben’ makes it possible to relay information about various types of ‘giving’ in all manner of situations past, present, future, and hypothetical. Not to mention that there are other definitions of ‘geben’ that are also commonly used in numerous figures of speech.
‘Geben’ is such a common, everyday verb that you can’t masterfully speak German if you don’t understand how to use its various conjugations.
You’ll use ‘geben’ in order to …
- ✅ Talk about giving / bestowing / granting / endowing / lending.
- ✅ Use other set phrases to communicate uttering something, paying attention, announcing/disclosing, raising the alarm, accelerating, reciprocating, being careful, legislating, talking back to someone, providing comfort, and more!
- ✅ Learn common idioms (e.g. ‘to turn tail and run’, ‘to throw in the towel’’)
- ✅ Talk about ‘giving’ in the past, present, and future (I will give…, etc.)
- ✅ Speak hypothetically (e.g. I would have given, if only …)
- ✅ Give a command or make a suggestion (e.g. ‘give it to me!’)
Building Blocks You Need For ‘Geben’
‘Geben’ conjugations empower you to express yourself in a LOT of different ways. You need to correctly wield ‘geben’ in a variety of contexts in order to speak German capably, comfortably, and confidently.
To correctly use ‘geben’ in various tenses and moods, to give commands or offer suggestions, or to speak hypothetically, you need to build these foundational skills:
- Know the subject [i.e. nominative] pronouns for all singular & plural persons.
- Learn the present and simple past tense conjugations of ‘geben’ for all persons.
- Learn the ‘geben’ conjugations for the conditional, subjunctive, and imperative moods.
- Know when to use the infinitive form vs. past participle of ‘geben’.
Terminology Explained
subject pronouns are the words ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘we’ and ‘they’ in English. German has these same options BUT also three more! These pronouns are categorized as ‘persons’ that are either singular (e.g. ‘I’) or plural (e.g. ‘we’).
conjugations are slight changes to a verb that line up with different ‘persons’ –for example, ‘I give’ (base verb) vs. ‘he gives’ (with the added ‘s’). English generally has only these two conjugations, but German typically uses four conjugations.
tense & mood are simply variants of a verb such as present tense (‘I give’), past tense (‘I gave’), future tense (‘I will give’), and subjunctive mood (‘I would give, [if]…’). German and English have all the same verb tenses and moods and they function similarly.
infinitive verbs are the base form of German verbs and typically end with an -en that is removed (producing the ‘root’ /’stem’) before then adding on conjugations. Also, some particular sentence formulations utilize a verb (or even two) in its infinitive form.
past participles are a form of a verb that is used to formulate the 3 ‘perfect’ tenses and also in the utilization of the passive voice. Every verb has just one past participle that is used by all persons in conjunction with a ‘helping verb’ (either ‘haben’ or ‘sein’).
“HELP! This Feels Overwhelming!”
This can understandably feel like a LOT, but the good news is that you DON’T have to fully master all the applications of ‘geben’ right now as a beginner learner –which also means you don’t have to have all the relevant lingo totally down yet, either.
The ideal place to start is by learning just the German subject pronouns and the present tense conjugations of ‘geben’. We covered this in depth above, but here is the table with both pieces of information, again, here:
Repetitious, simple sentences (like the examples I gave you above in an earlier section) will help you drill these present tense ‘geben’ conjugations into your memory.
And since all the subject pronouns are exactly the same no matter what German verb conjugations we’re learning, we’ll get lots of mileage out of learning our ‘ich’ and ‘du’, etc.
If you’re beyond a beginner level already, you’ll see those ‘ich’s and ‘du’s repeated again and again in the following tables of ALL the ‘geben’ conjugations.
Learning all of this is a big task for almost every German learner.
I’ll teach you step-by-step.
‘Geben’ Conjugations in ALL Tenses & Moods
‘Geben’ is used in 6 tenses (of the indicative mood), and in two additional moods (the subjunctive and imperative). We use ‘geben’ to talk about ‘giving in the past, present, and future (e.g. I gave, I give, I will give). ‘Geben’ is also used to say ‘I wouldgive’ (subjunctive) or to give a command such as ‘give me your full attention!’
For those of you who are ready for it, here are the full conjugation tables for ‘geben’:
Indicative (Indikativ)
The indicative mood is how we talk most of the time: about real facts (She will give you a ride to work. The man gave his wife roses for her birthday. I’ll give you money for lunch.)
The indicative mood subcategories into SIX tenses in both English and German. Most of these tenses are used very similarly.
It’s essential to learn the Present Tense first, and then the Present Perfect. After that, you’ll get the most utility out of the Simple Future, then Simple Past, then Past Perfect, and then Future Perfect.
Present (Präsens)
| ‘GEBEN’- Present Tense (Präsens) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich geb(e)⁵ | wir geben |
| 2nd | du gibst | ihr gebt |
| 3rd | er gibt | sie geben |
Simple Past (Präteritum)
| ‘GEBEN’- Simple Past (Präteritum) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich gab | wir gaben |
| 2nd | du gabst | ihr gabt |
| 3rd | er gab | sie gaben |
Present Perfect (Perfekt)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Present Perfect (Perfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich habe gegeben | wir haben gegeben |
| 2nd | du hast gegeben | ihr habt gegeben |
| 3rd | er hat gegeben | sie haben gegeben |
Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hatte gegeben | wir hatten gegeben |
| 2nd | du hattest gegeben | ihr hattet gegeben |
| 3rd | er hatte gegeben | sie hatten gegeben |
Simple Future (Futur I)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Simple Future (Futur I) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde geben | wir werden geben |
| 2nd | du wirst geben | ihr werdet geben |
| 3rd | er wird geben | sie werden geben |
Future Perfect (Futur II)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Future Perfect (Futur II) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde gegeben haben | wir werden gegeben haben |
| 2nd | du wirst gegeben haben | ihr werdet gegeben haben |
| 3rd | er wird gegeben haben | sie werden gegeben haben |
Important Notes on German Tenses
Although German and English HAVE all the same tenses, they aren’t necessarily all used the same way.
In German …
- The Present Tense covers three different English options: for example, I eat, I do eat, I am eating would ALL simply be ‘Ich esse’ in German.
- The Present Perfect Tense (which would technically translate to, e.g. I have eaten) actually correlates with English’s simple past (i.e. I ate) in terms of usage.
- The Simple Future tense is frequently avoided in favor of the Present tense and a time adverbial.
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative mood is used in both English and German for giving commands. Note that a ‘du’ or ‘ihr’ subject is generally omitted, but that a ‘wir’ and ‘Sie’ must be present.
| ‘GEBEN’- Imperative (Imperativ) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | geben wir! | |
| 2nd Informal | gib [du]! | gebt [ihr]! |
| 2nd Formal | geben Sie! | geben Sie! |
| 3rd | ||
Subjunctive (Konjunktiv)
The subjunctive mood is used in both English and German (but much more frequently in German!) to communicate hypothetical (i.e. not factual [indicative]) situations.
The subjunctive can be used to communicate a present or future likelihood (but not certainty) OR a complete impossibility in the past, present, or future.
The subjunctive is also used for expressing polite requests vs. the commands of the imperative mood.
Present Subjunctive (Konjunktiv I)
| ‘GEBEN’- Present Subjunctive (Konjunktiv I) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich gebe | wir geben |
| 2nd | du gebest | ihr gebet |
| 3rd | er gebe | sie geben |
Past Subjunctive (Konjunktiv II)
| ‘GEBEN’- Past Subjunctive (Konjunktiv II) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich gäbe | wir gäben |
| 2nd | du gäbest | ihr gäbet |
| 3rd | er gäbe | sie gäben |
Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Perfekt)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Perfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich habe gegeben | wir haben gegeben |
| 2nd | du habest gegeben | ihr habet gegeben |
| 3rd | er habe gegeben | sie haben gegeben |
Past Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Plusquamperfekt)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Past Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Plusquamperfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hätte gegeben | wir hätten gegeben |
| 2nd | du hättest gegeben | ihr hättet gegeben |
| 3rd | er hätte gegeben | sie hätten gegeben |
Future Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Futur I)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Future Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Futur I) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde geben | wir werden geben |
| 2nd | du werdest geben | ihr werdet geben |
| 3rd | er werde geben | sie werden geben |
Future Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Futur II)
| ‘GEBEN’ – Future Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Futur II) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde gegeben haben | wir werden gegeben haben |
| 2nd | du werdest gegeben haben | ihr werdet gegeben haben |
| 3rd | er werde gegeben haben | sie werden gegeben haben |
Common Confusion
How do you use ‘geben’ in a sentence?
‘Geben’ is a German verb that requires both TWO objects: direct (accusative case) and indirect (dative case). Thus, we’d compose, for example, ‘I give my baby a cookie’ (Ich gebe meinem Baby einen Keks). For more examples, see here.
Is ‘geben’ a dative verb?
‘Geben’ is a type of German verbs called ‘einem etwas’ verbs which means that it will require both an accusative (i.e. direct) object and a dative (i.e. indirect) object to make the sentence complete. Dative verbs will require only a dative object.
Is ‘geben’ an accusative verb?
Accusative verbs will require an accusative (i.e. direct) object, optionally allowing a dative (i.e. indirect) object. ‘Geben’ as an ‘einem etwas’ verb will actually require both an accusative and a dative object. Neither are optional.
Rapid Q&A
What does the verb ‘geben’ mean?
‘Geben’ means ‘to give’, as in “I give a hug to my son every day.’
Is ‘geben’ an irregular verb in German?
Yes! The term ‘irregular verb’ is another way of saying ‘strong verb.’ All strong verbs will take a vowel change in the simple past tense, some take an additional vowel change in their past participles, and some –such as ‘geben’– even take a vowel change in the present tense (but just for ‘du’ and ‘er / sie / es’).
Is ‘geben’ a regular verb?
No, ‘geben’ is not a regular verb. Regular verbs will not take any vowel change in any tense. Geben will take a vowel change under certain circumstances, such as when it is paired with ‘du’ in the present tense: ‘du gibst.’
What are the 3 forms of ‘geben’?
