Some strong verbs take the same endings as weak verbs, but the spelling and the vowel sound change in the du and er/sie/es forms.
The rest of the verb does not change at all.
These changes are important, as they alter the way the word is pronounced.
Add i
Some verbs change the vowel sound by adding an i in the second and third person singular, eg lesen (to read) and sehen (to see).
lesen – to read
ich lese
but
du liest
er liest
sie liest
es liest
Add an umlaut
Some verbs change the vowel sound by adding an umlautA symbol, consisting of two dots over a vowel, showing a change in vowel sound. The German vowels that have an umlaut are ä, ö, ü. They are pronounced by rounding the lips. An alternative way of noting the change of vowel sound when the umlaut symbol is unavailable is to write the letter 'e' after the vowel with no umlaut, eg Ärztin or Aertzin, Länder or Laender. There is no umlaut on the letters 'e' or 'i' in German. in the second and third person singular, eg fahren (to travel), tragen (to wear or carry) and waschen (to wash).
fahren – to travel
ich fahre
but
du fährst
er fährt
sie fährt
es fährt
Swap e for i
Some verbs change the vowel sound by swapping e for i in the second and third person singular, eg essen (to eat) and vergessen (to forget).
