Present tenseEssential verbs: haben and sein

Use the present tense to describe what is happening right now, what you do regularly or what you do in an ongoing situation.

Part ofGermanGrammar (for exams until 2025)

Essential verbs: haben and sein

There are two essential verbs to learn in German:

  • haben – to have
  • sein – to be

The main thing to remember about these two important verbs is that they are both irregular.

Question

Match the German present tense forms of haben to their English equivalents.

habento have
1. ich habeA. You have (formal)
2. du hastB. he has
3. er hatC. we have
4. sie hatD. they have
5. es hatE. you have (pl)
6. wir habenF. I have
7. ihr habtG. it has
8. Sie habenH. she has
9. sie habenI. you have (s)
haben1. ich habe
to haveA. You have (formal)
haben2. du hast
to haveB. he has
haben3. er hat
to haveC. we have
haben4. sie hat
to haveD. they have
haben5. es hat
to haveE. you have (pl)
haben6. wir haben
to haveF. I have
haben7. ihr habt
to haveG. it has
haben8. Sie haben
to haveH. she has
haben9. sie haben
to haveI. you have (s)

Question

Match the German present tense forms of sein to their English equivalents.

seinto be
1. ich binA. he is
2. du bistB. they are
3. er istC. You are (formal)
4. sie istD. it is
5. es istE. you are (s)
6. wir sindF. I am
7. ihr seidG. she is
8. Sie sindH. we are
9. sie sindI. you are (pl)
sein1. ich bin
to beA. he is
sein2. du bist
to beB. they are
sein3. er ist
to beC. You are (formal)
sein4. sie ist
to beD. it is
sein5. es ist
to beE. you are (s)
sein6. wir sind
to beF. I am
sein7. ihr seid
to beG. she is
sein8. Sie sind
to beH. we are
sein9. sie sind
to beI. you are (pl)

How could you answer these questions using haben or sein?

Question

Wie bist du?

Question

Hast du Geschwister?

Question

Wo ist Lars?

Question

Habt ihr heute Hausaufgaben, Kinder?

Question

Hat sie eine Katze?

Question

Sind Sie Herr Weber?

Did you know?

Close-up of the nose of a dog

Using phrases and idioms help you to sound like a fluent and natural speaker of German.

The verb haben appears in the following useful phrases:

  • die Nase voll haben – to be fed up (literally: to have the nose full)
  • die Schnauze voll haben – to be fed up (literally: to have the snout full)

Example in use

Ich lerne jeden Tag. Ich habe im Moment die Nase voll. – I study every day. I'm fed up at the moment.

Alternatively, you can use the verb sein.

Woman holds her hand near ear and listens carefully isolated on gray wall background

Look at this phrase:

  • ganz Ohr sein – to listen very carefully (literally: to be all ear)

Example in use

Was ist dein Geheimnis? Ich bin ganz Ohr. – What's your secret? I'm all ears.