“Wissen” is a fundamental verb in the German language, translating to “to know”. Understanding its conjugation across various grammatical tenses is essential for mastering German language proficiency. Below, we'll look into the conjugation of “wissen” in different tenses.
Present Tense
In the present tense, “wissen” conjugates as follows:
– Ich weiß (I know)
– Du weißt (You know)
– Er/sie/es weiß (He/she/it knows)
– Wir wissen (We know)
– Ihr wisst (You all know)
– Sie wissen (They know)
Past Tense (Simple Past)
The simple past tense of “wissen” in German is irregular. It conjugates as:
– Ich wusste (I knew)
– Du wusstest (You knew)
– Er/sie/es wusste (He/she/it knew)
– Wir wussten (We knew)
– Ihr wusstet (You all knew)
– Sie wussten (They knew)
Perfect Tense
In the perfect tense, “wissen” is conjugated with the auxiliary verb “haben” (to have). The past participle of “wissen” is “gewusst”. The conjugation is as follows:
– Ich habe gewusst (I have known)
– Du hast gewusst (You have known)
– Er/sie/es hat gewusst (He/she/it has known)
– Wir haben gewusst (We have known)
– Ihr habt gewusst (You all have known)
– Sie haben gewusst (They have known)
Pluperfect Tense
The pluperfect tense (past perfect) also uses the auxiliary verb “haben” and the past participle “gewusst”. Conjugation is similar to the perfect tense, but with the past form of the auxiliary verb:
– Ich hatte gewusst (I had known)
– Du hattest gewusst (You had known)
– Er/sie/es hatte gewusst (He/she/it had known)
– Wir hatten gewusst (We had known)
– Ihr hattet gewusst (You all had known)
– Sie hatten gewusst (They had known)
Future Tense
To form the future tense of “wissen”, the auxiliary verb “werden” (to become) is used along with the infinitive form of “wissen”. The conjugation is as follows:
– Ich werde wissen (I will know)
– Du wirst wissen (You will know)
– Er/sie/es wird wissen (He/she/it will know)
– Wir werden wissen (We will know)
– Ihr werdet wissen (You all will know)
– Sie werden wissen (They will know)
Future Perfect Tense
In the future perfect tense, “wissen” is combined with the auxiliary verb “haben” and the past participle “gewusst”. The conjugation is:
– Ich werde gewusst haben (I will have known)
– Du wirst gewusst haben (You will have known)
– Er/sie/es wird gewusst haben (He/she/it will have known)
– Wir werden gewusst haben (We will have known)
– Ihr werdet gewusst haben (You all will have known)
– Sie werden gewusst haben (They will have known)