Irregular German verbs are a very important topic. It can be said that the whole language rests on this part of speech. But first things first.
About Irregular Verbs
This part of speech is a verb conjugation paradigm deviated from ordinary forms, if we speak in philological language. It is worth noting that, as a rule, these are the most used verbs, which partially retained the remnants of forms that were long ago lost in the process of changing the language. Often, these are auxiliary, for example, ligaments. Often you can observe and suppletivism, i.e., a change in the word. And one more nuance: irregular verbs are familiar to a group of inflected languages. Those are Indo-European. But for people who speak agglutinative (for example, Mongolian, Turkic) languages, the concept of irregular verbs is unfamiliar. They are either very few, or they are not at all present in the language. But in each case its own nuances, and each of them is an integral part of the language.
Features of the part of speech
In German, absolutely all verbs are divided into categories, there are two of them. Here the principle of the formation of the basic form (translation: Grundformen) applies. There are irregular verbs and regular ones. The second, unlike the first, form quite unusual forms, not matching the patterns in any way. I must say that irregular irregular verbs of the German language do not belong to any peculiar subgroup of strong parts of speech. That is why they are in a separate group from the rest. In general, a verb is the center of any sentence, without which it is impossible to correctly express one’s thought. So for an ideal study of all the features of this part of speech, time is needed, and if you want to know the material at a decent level, you need to pay enough attention to it.
Where to begin
It has been said that in German there are several types of verbs. Accordingly, in order to begin the study of this section, first you need to familiarize yourself with the classification. There are strong, irregular, and weak verbs. In German, temporary forms are formed according to strictly defined rules for this. In the case of the conversion of weak verbs, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that they all change according to the same model. And interestingly, most of the verbs of this language belong to the weak type. If we talk about a strong group, then there are some signs. But irregular verbs of the German language are in the minority. However, this does not mean that it is easier to learn them. On the contrary, the table of irregular verbs of the German language is learned by heart, and here it will be difficult for some, since it is necessary to learn each of the forms, of which there are only three. They are obligatory, since only with their help it is possible to form the future, past, and present.
The foundation
In order to make it easier to start, you should consider at least a basic list of irregular verbs of the German language. So, some of them change the root vowel when conjugation occurs. And this is done according to the principle of strong verbs. These include the words kennen (translation: know), nennen (call), and brennen (burn). At the same time, they are distinguished by a special feature - the suffix te. The fact is that this part of the word denotes weak verbs. For these parts of speech, there are three forms: infinitive, preteritum, and participle. And here is what the previously listed words changed according to these forms look like:
- nennen - nannte - genannt.
It is difficult to associate one with the other, and that is why it is necessary to memorize. Further:
- kennen - kannte - gekannt.
There are similarities with the previous case, namely in the endings. And, accordingly, you can think up the last word:
- brennen - brante - gebrant.
However, this principle cannot be applied to all. Since in other words both consonants and vowels change, for example:
- denken - dachte - gedacht.
German language features
Irregular verbs of the German language are an integral part of it. By learning them, a person better learns the language itself. Having mastered all forms, it is much easier to perceive speech. But the verb system in this Romano-Germanic language is much more complicated, unlike English. Indeed, in German there are separate forms of this part of speech for all persons. But the Russian man cannot be surprised by this. It is worth noting that most verbs, being in the first person, differ from the present tense by the absence of the last letter (n). It is replaced in the third person by t, and in the second - by st. And there are a lot of such features. Therefore, when embarking on the study of this language, one should be prepared to learn a lot by heart. Otherwise, you won’t be able to learn it. An exception may be the case when a person finds himself in a linguistic environment, that is, in Germany - there, a language is learned by itself. And even then, it is advisable to learn the rules, since literacy is always valued. Without owning a written speech, a person will not be able to fill out a form, indicate his phone number, answer questions in writing, etc.