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German Irregular Verbs: Stem-Changing Verbs Explained

das unregelmäßige Verb
Before this lesson: make sure you've covered sein & haben (to be / to have) first.

Irregular verbs mostly follow the same endings as regular verbs, but their stem vowel changes for "du" and "er/sie/es" — usually e→i, e→ie, or a→ä.

See it in action

Infinitiveichduer/sie/es
fahren (to drive)fahrefährstfährt
sehen (to see)sehesiehstsieht
sprechen (to speak)sprechesprichstspricht
nehmen (to take)nehmenimmstnimmt
Memory trick: The endings (-e, -st, -t…) stay exactly the same as regular verbs — only the vowel in the middle of the stem changes, and only for du and er/sie/es.
⚠ Common mistake: Verbs like geben, helfen, schlafen, and laufen follow the same vowel-change pattern — learn them as a group.

🎯 Quick check

What changes in irregular verbs like "sprechen"?

Related topics

Regular VerbsWord Order & Sentence Structure
← Previoussein & haben (to be / to have)