Learning ‘haben’ is tricky because it is a bit irregular –some typical patterns are broken and we’re forced to simply memorize several random changes.
Key Takeaways
- ‘haben’ (‘to have’) is a very commonly used infinitive verb in German.
- ‘haben’ conjugations are somewhat irregular and must be memorized.
- ‘haben’ conjugations frequently combine with other German verbs.
How is ‘Haben’ Used in German?
Knowing how to correctly use ‘haben’ in its many diverse forms allows you to speak masterfully in German in a wide variety of contexts.
‘Haben’ allows you to talk about yourself and others ‘having’ various objects (I have a cough / a new car / an idea, etc.) in all manner of situations past, present, future, and hypothetical.
You’ll use ‘haben’ in order to …
- ✅ Talk about physical conditions (I have a headache, ‘I have hunger’, etc.)
- ✅ Communicate possession (I have the key, I have a daughter, etc.)
- ✅ Say that you (or someone else) have, have had, will have, would have…
What are the 6 conjugations of ‘haben’?
The 6 conjugations of ‘haben’ in the present tense line up with our 6 subject pronouns to give us ‘ich habe’, ‘du hast’, ‘er / sie / es hat’, ‘wir haben’, ‘ihr habt’, and ‘sie haben.’
However, notice that two of those conjugations are identical: both ‘wir’ (we) and ‘sie’ (they) pair with ‘haben’ in its infinitive form.
There are, of course, even more forms of ‘haben’ in other tenses (and moods).
But it’s best to first focus strictly on the present tense forms of ‘haben’, so let’s look at it side-by-side with the English ‘to have’:
‘Haben’ (in English)
| I have |
| you have |
| he/she/it has |
| we have |
| they have |
‘Haben’ in German is ‘to have’ in English. And in the present tense, we have two possible conjugations: ‘have’, and ‘has’.
In the case of ‘have’, 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 ‘has’.
‘To have’ is generally the most diverse (read: potentially confusing) verb in about any language and this is certainly true for both English and German.
Those same conjugations in German look like this:
‘Haben’ (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 ‘haben’ (to be) occurring with equivalent pronouns?
- Which language includes more changes compared to the other?
‘Haben’ in the Present Tense
The present tense conjugations of ‘haben’ are ich habe, du hast, er / sie / es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, and sie haben.
Put into a typical conjugation table, these options are presented like this:
Present Tense Conjugation Chart:
| ich habe | wir haben |
| du hast | ihr habt |
| er/sie/es hat | sie haben |
You truly haven’t even begun to learn ‘haben’ until you know ALL the nominative case pronouns and which form of ‘haben’ each of them takes.
To talk about the conjugations of ‘haben’ 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 ‘haben’ stay the same:
German Subject Pronoun & ‘Haben’ Conjugations Chart:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ich habe | wir haben |
| 2nd (informal) | du hast | ihr habt |
| (formal) | Sie haben | Sie haben |
| 3rd | er/sie/es hat | sie haben |
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 ‘Haben’
Knowing how to use ‘haben’ 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 habe ein Pferd. (I have a horse.)
Ich habe keine Idee. (I have no idea.)
Wir haben ein Pferd. (We have a horse.)
Wir haben keine Idee. (We have no idea.)
2nd Person (Informal), Singular & Plural
Du hast ein Pferd. (You have a horse.)
Du hast keine Idee. (You have no idea.
Ihr habt ein Pferd. (You have a horse.)
Ihr habt keine Idee. (You have no idea.)
2nd Person (Formal), Singular & Plural
Sie haben ein Pferd. (You have a horse.)
Sie haben keine Idee. (You have no idea.)
Sie haben ein Pferd. (You have a horse.)
Sie haben keine Idee. (You have no idea.)
3rd Person, Singular & Plural
Das Mädchen hat ein Pferd. (The girl has a horse.)
Das Mädchen hat keine Idee. (The girl has no idea.)
Die Mädchen haben ein Pferd. (The girls have a horse.)
Die Mädchen haben keine Idee. (The girls have no idea.)
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 ‘haben’.
- Notice that the word for ‘girl’ (Mädchen) is a neuter noun instead of a feminine one. This is because of the neuter ending -chen which is ‘stronger’ than the intuitive noun group of male vs. female gender. Learn more about German Noun Gender.
- Almost every English noun pluralizes simply with ‘s’ (e.g. girl -> girls), but German has SEVEN different options that we have to know how to choose between! Notice that in the instances of ‘Mädchen’ (girl), the German plural used is the ‘no change’ plural, meaning that the noun itself doesn’t change (but the ‘das’ changed to a ‘die!)
- ‘Das’ and ‘die’ (as well as 4 additional options!) both mean ‘the’ in English. That there are 6 different ways to say ‘the’ in German is a feature of The German Case System.
Skills You’ll Need to Use ‘Haben’ Conjugations:
‘Haben’ makes it possible to relay information you’re not necessarily vouching for, make a polite suggestion (or give a bossy command), and talk about yourself and others ‘having’ (I have a headache, He has a problem, etc.) in all manner of situations past, present, future, hypothetical.
On top of that, particular conjugations of ‘haben’ (i.e. the infinitive, present tenses conjugations, simple past tense conjugations, and Konjunktiv I conjugations) are a vital element in other verbs forming various tenses and moods.
The bottom line: you can’t masterfully speak German if you don’t understand how to use the various conjugations of ‘haben.’
You’ll use ‘haben’ in order to …
- ✅ Talk about physical conditions (I ‘have hunger’, I ‘have thirst’, etc.)
- ✅ Communicate possession (He has a dog, She has a rare rug, etc.)
- ✅ Communicate abstractions (He has a problem, She has an idea, etc.)
- ✅ Use other verbs in present perfect tense (I called grandma, I baked cookies, etc.)*
- ✅ Put those same verbs in the past perfect tense (I had called grandma, etc.)
- ✅ Speak about hypotheticals (I would have called grandma, if only …)
- ✅ Talk about ‘future perfect’ events (I will have baked cookies …)
- ✅ Understand and/or pass along information from a third party (‘His lawyer claims that the defendant …)
- ✅ Give a command or make a suggestion or plea (e.g. ‘have a seat!’ or ‘have mercy!)
*Note that where English utilized the simple past or past progressive (as written in these examples), German would use the present perfect (e.g. Ich habe Oma angerufen, Ich habe Kekse gebacken).
Building Blocks You Need For ‘Haben’
‘Haben’ conjugations empower you to express yourself in a LOT of different ways. You need to correctly wield ‘haben’ in a variety of contexts in order to speak German capably, comfortably, and confidently.
To correctly use ‘haben’ in various tenses and moods, to give commands or offer suggestions, to speak hypothetically, or relay 3rd party information , 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 ‘haben’ for all persons.
- Learn the ‘haben’ conjugations for the conditional, subjunctive, and imperative moods.
- Understand how to formulate 2 past perfect tenses with ‘haben’ as a helping verb.
- Understand how to formulate the future perfect tense using ‘haben’ in its infinitive form.
- Use ‘haben’ (conjugated) as a linking verb connected to predicate nouns & adjectives.
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 eat’ (base verb) vs. ‘he eats’ (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 eat’), past tense (‘I ate’), future tense (‘I will eat’), and subjunctive mood (‘I would eat, [if]…’). German and English have all the same verb tenses and moods and they function similarly.
helping verbs are used in German and English past tenses paired with a mained verb (e.g. I have eaten). In English, the helping verb is always a form of ‘to have’, but in German, we have two options: ‘haben’ (to have) and sein (to be).
linking verbs allow us to refer to the same subject twice, as if the verb is an ‘equal sign’ (e.g. This woman is a doctor.) Linking verbs connect the subject (woman) to a predicate noun (doctor) or to a predicate adjective (e.g. This woman is rich.)
“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 ‘haben’ 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 ‘haben’. 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 ‘haben’ 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 ‘haben’ conjugations.
Learning all of this is a big task for almost every German learner.
I’ll teach you step-by-step.
‘Haben’ Conjugations in ALL Tenses & Moods
‘Haben’ is used in 6 tenses (of the indicative mood), and in two additional moods (the subjunctive and imperative). We use ‘haben’ to talk about states of ‘having’ in the past, present, and future (e.g. I have, I had, I will have). ‘Haben’ is also used to say ‘I would have’ (subjunctive) or to give a command such as ‘have mercy!’
As mentioned above, ‘haben’ is also essential in formulating various tenses & moods of other verbs … so we get a lot of mileage out of this small but mighty German verb. It pays to master ‘haben’!
For those of you who are ready for it, here are the full conjugation tables for ‘haben’:
Indicative (Indikativ)
The indicative mood is how we talk most of the time: about real facts (I have a cold. Would you have time to help me? She had pasta for lunch. I will have the project finished by noon.)
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)
| ‘HABEN’- Present Tense (Präsens) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hab(e)⁵ | wir haben |
| 2nd | du hast | ihr habt |
| 3rd | er hat | sie haben |
Simple Past (Präteritum)
| ‘HABEN’- Simple Past (Präteritum) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hatte | wir hatten |
| 2nd | du hattest | ihr hattet |
| 3rd | er hatte | sie hatten |
Present Perfect (Perfekt)
| ‘HABEN’ – Present Perfect (Perfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich habe gehabt | wir haben gehabt |
| 2nd | du hast gehabt | ihr habt gehabt |
| 3rd | er hat gehabt | sie haben gehabt |
Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| ‘HABEN’ – Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hatte gehabt | wir hatten gehabt |
| 2nd | du hattest gehabt | ihr hattet gehabt |
| 3rd | er hatte gehabt | sie hatten gehabt |
Simple Future (Futur I)
| ‘HABEN’ – Simple Future (Futur I) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde haben | wir werden haben |
| 2nd | du wirst haben | ihr werdet haben |
| 3rd | er wird haben | sie werden haben |
Future Perfect (Futur II)
| ‘HABEN’ – Future Perfect (Futur II) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde gehabt haben | wir werden gehabt haben |
| 2nd | du wirst gehabt haben | ihr werdet gehabt haben |
| 3rd | er wird gehabt haben | sie werden gehabt 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.
| ‘HABEN’- Imperative (Imperativ) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | haben wir! | |
| 2nd Informal | hab(e)⁵ [du]! | habt [ihr]! |
| 2nd Formal | haben Sie! | haben 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)
| ‘HABEN’- Present Subjunctive (Konjunktiv I) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich habe | wir haben |
| 2nd | du habest | ihr habet |
| 3rd | er habe | sie haben |
Past Subjunctive (Konjunktiv II)
| ‘HABEN’- Past Subjunctive (Konjunktiv II) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hätte | wir hätten |
| 2nd | du hättest | ihr hättet |
| 3rd | er hätte | sie hätten |
Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Perfekt)
| ‘HABEN’ – Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Perfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich habe gehabt | wir haben gehabt |
| 2nd | du habest gehabt | ihr habet gehabt |
| 3rd | er habe gehabt | sie haben gehabt |
Past Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Plusquamperfekt)
| ‘HABEN’ – Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich hatte gehabt | wir hatten gehabt |
| 2nd | du hattest gehabt | ihr hattet gehabt |
| 3rd | er hatte gehabt | sie hatten gehabt |
Future Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Futur I)
| ‘HABEN’ – Simple Future (Futur I) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde haben | wir werden haben |
| 2nd | du wirst haben | ihr werdet haben |
| 3rd | er wird haben | sie werden haben |
Future Perfect Subjunctive (Konjunktiv Futur II)
| ‘HABEN’ – Future Perfect (Futur II) Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | ich werde gehabt haben | wir werden gehabt haben |
| 2nd | du wirst gehabt haben | ihr werdet gehabt haben |
| 3rd | er wird gehabt haben | sie werden gehabt haben |
Common Confusion
What is the difference between ‘hast’ and ‘haben’?
The difference between ‘hast’ and ‘haben’ is a matter of which ‘person’ these two conjugations pair with.
The German pronoun ‘du’ (you, singular, informal) takes an -st conjugation added to the root/stem of verbs. So, it would be ‘du hast’ (you have).
The German pronouns ‘wir’ (we), sie (they), and Sie (you, singular/plural, formal) all use the infinitive form of ‘haben’ –thus, ‘haben’ itself.
How do you know if it is ‘sein’ or ‘haben’?
When to use ‘sein’ or ‘haben’ is all about how other verbs formulate various tenses and moods.
‘Sein’ or ‘haben’ is used as the helping / auxiliary verb when other [‘main’] verbs are formulated into the …
- present perfect tense
- past perfect tense
- future perfect tense
- subjunctive mood
The ‘sein’ vs. ‘haben’ debate is a traditionally tricky subject that definitely requires practice!
‘Sein’ vs. ‘Haben’ Examples
‘Sein’ is used as the helping / auxiliary verb in these tenses / moods along with relatively few (but common!) intransitive verbs such as ‘einschlafen’ (to fall asleep):
- present perfect tense: Ich bin eingeschlafen (I fell asleep.)
- past perfect tense: Ich war eingeschlafen (I had fallen asleep.)
- future perfect tense: Ich werde eingeschlafen sein… (I will have fallen asleep…)
- subjunctive mood: Ich wäre eingeschlafen… (I would have fallen asleep…)
‘Haben’ is paired with all other verbs and so is more frequently used:
- present perfect tense: Ich habe gegessen (I ate.)
- past perfect tense: Ich hatte gegessen (I had eaten.)
- future perfect tense: Ich werde gegessen haben… (I will have eaten…)
- subjunctive mood: Ich hätte gegessen… (I would have eaten…)
When to use ‘sein’
You’ll need to use ‘sein’ as the helping verb with a lot of high-frequency intransitive verbs that fall under three categories:
- Verbs such as ‘kommen’ (to come), ‘gehen’ (to go), ‘rennen’ (to run) and ‘schwimmen’ (to swim) that imply the subject’s movement from point A to point B (even if the starting point and/or destination are unspecified).
- Verbs that express a change in condition or state of being such as ‘einschlafen’ (to fall asleep), ‘aufwachen’ (to wake up), and ‘sterben’ (to die).
- Verbs that refer to a certain change in circumstances such as ‘gelingen’ (to succeed) or ‘misslingen’ (to fail). [NOTE: these two verbs are so-called ‘dative verbs’.]
Any time you learn a German verb, you must know whether it will use ‘sein’ or ‘haben’ in formulating the three ‘perfect’ tenses and the subjunctive mood.
When to use ‘haben’
If you know the relatively small body of verbs that pair with ‘sein’ in the various tenses & moods mentioned, then the answer to ‘when to use haben’ is quite simply: all other times.
In other words, using ‘haben’ is the default situation: if you don’t meet the criteria that force you use ‘sein’, then you can know that ‘haben’ is what you need!
What is the 2 verb rule in German?
The 2-Verb Rule in German is a matter of putting the conjugated verb (and there can be only 1 per clause) in ‘position 2’ and then a 2nd verb (in either its infinitive or past participle form) at the end of the sentence (sometimes presented as ‘position 4’ or the ‘end field’). Learn more about German Word Order.
When you’re working with any main verb in the Perfect tense, ‘haben’ (in the present tense!!) as the helping / auxiliary verb will be the conjugated verb in position and the past participle of the main verb will be at the very end:
Ich habe dich gehört. (I [have] heard you.)
Ich habe dich gesehen. (I saw [have seen] you.)
Remember that although the perfect tense (preferred in German) technically lines up with ‘have heard / have seen’ etc. in English, the real-life usage of the perfect tense in German equates the English usage of the simple past tense (e.g. ‘I heard / I saw …’).
What is the difference between ‘haben’ and ‘sein’ past tense?
‘Haben’ and ‘Sein’ in the past tense are completely different words, of course; but you can still see some recognizable conjugations predictably utilized (as per regular rules) by the same ‘persons’ (e.g. the -st for ‘du’; both the 1st person & 3rd person singular use the same verb form in the simple past, etc.).
While these observed patterns are helpful, the past tense forms of ‘haben’ and ‘sein’ aren’t somehow logically derived from some sort of prior knowledge base and thus simply need to be memorized (and you WILL actually use these forms of ‘haben’ and ‘sein’, so learning this will pay off!)
‘Haben’ Past Tense Conjugation Chart:
| ich hatte | wir hatten |
| du hattest | ihr hattet |
| er/sie/es hatte | sie hatten |
‘Sein’ Past Tense Conjugation Chart:
| ich war | wir waren |
| du warst | ihr ward |
| er/sie/es war | sie waren |
Rapid Q&A
Is ‘haben’ strong or weak?
‘Haben’ is a weak (i.e. regular) German verb in the sense that it doesn’t take any stem-vowel changes in its various conjugations in any tense or mood.
However, ‘haben’ conjugations do have some irregularities that fall outside of strong (i.e. irregular) vs. weak (i.e. regular) and even ‘mixed verb’ (i.e. partially strong, partially weak) parameters – for this reason, I consider ‘haben’ one of very few ‘oddball’ verbs.
Is ‘haben’ a regular verb in German?
‘Haben’ is a regular (i.e. weak) German verb in the sense that it doesn’t take any stem-vowel changes in its various conjugations in any tense or mood. Furthermore, ‘haben’ does formulate its past participle (‘gehabt’) according to ‘regular’ verb principles: ge + verb root + t.
However, ‘haben’ present and past tense conjugations are NOT regular … but nor do they follow the predictable irregularities of irregular or mixed verbs! ‘Haben’ falls outside of the regular / irregular / mixed paradigm –it’s what I call an ‘oddball’ verb (of which, there are thankfully very few).
Is ‘haben’ always accusative?
‘Haben’ is always accusative in the sense that it’s a verb that requires an accusative complement (i.e. a direct object).
We don’t just ‘have’ … we must ‘have’ someone or something, as in ‘I have a new dog’, ‘I have mild congestion’, or ‘I have a question’.
Different types of verbs require different combos of additional elements (i.e. ‘complements’) in order for the sentence to be complete.
An ‘accusative verb’ (if you will) requires a Subject + Verb + Direct Object sentence pattern.
‘Haben’ is literally THE most common ‘accusative verb’.
Want to learn more about verb types, complements, and sentence patterns?
Learn with me in German Foundations to first establish more basic skills. Then, graduate on to German Foundations 2 to learn more about other ‘accusative’ (and more!) verbs.
What is the perfect form of ‘haben’?
The perfect form of ‘haben’ involves the past participle of ‘haben’ (i.e. ‘gehabt’) combined with these present tense conjugations of ‘haben’:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ich habe | wir haben |
| 2nd (informal) | du hast | ihr habt |
| (formal) | Sie haben | Sie haben |
| 3rd | er/sie/es hat | sie haben |
We use the perfect form of ‘haben’ to say things such as ‘Ich habe Glück gehabt’ (I had good luck).
Here is a full table of that same sentence, but for all ‘persons’:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | Ich habe Glück gehabt. (I [have] had good luck.) | Wir haben Glück gehabt. (We [have] had good luck.) |
| 2nd (informal) | Du hast Glück gehabt. (You [have] had good luck.) | Ihr habt Glück gehabt. (Y’all [have] had good luck.) |
| (formal) | Sie haben Glück gehabt. (You [have] had good luck.) | Sie haben Glück gehabt. (You [have] had good luck.) |
| 3rd | Er/sie hat Glück gehabt. (He/ she [have] had good luck.) | Sie haben Glück gehabt. (They [have] had good luck.) |
What are the 3 forms of ‘haben’?
