German Verbs ‘Haben’ (to Have) and ‘Sein’ (to Be)

The two most important German verbs are haben (to have) and sein (to be). As in most languages, the verb “to be” is one of the oldest verbs in German, and therefore one of the most irregular. The verb “to have” is only slightly less irregular, but no less vital to surviving speaking German.

 To be & to have

As in English, the two verbs ‘to be’ (sein) and ‘to have’ (haben) are quite important in German.
Both verbs are also irregular, and don’t follow any of the conjugation rules discussed in the previous lessons.

1. To be (sein):

The verb ‘sein’ is completely irregular in all of its forms; and thus needs to be learned by heart.

Pronoun sein
ich bin
du bist
er / sie / es ist
wir sind
ihr seid
sie sind
Sie sind

 

2. To have (haben):

The verb ‘haben’ is only irregular in its ‘du’ and ‘er/sie/es’ forms; as the letter ‘b’ is removed from its stem.

Pronoun haben
ich habe
du hast
er / sie / es hat
wir haben
ihr habt
sie haben
Sie haben

Just like in the English language, both verbs are used to form tenses; and thus are very widely used within the German language.

To end this lesson, here are a few examples of both verbs in use:

Example Meaning
ich bin aus Ägypten I’m from Egypt
du bist sehr Hübsch You’re very pretty
er hat eine Katze He has a cat
wir haben keine Zeit We have no time
ihr seid niemals allein You are never alone
sie haben eine neue Wohnung They have a new apartment
Sie sind Willkommen You’re welcome