sein

To Be (Sein)

Level 1

sein (to be) is highly irregular and essential for basic communication. It functions as a linking verb (I am a student) and an auxiliary verb for past tenses.

How It Works

The verb sein is the most frequent verb in German. Because it is 'suppletive' (derived from different historical roots), its forms like bin, bist, and sind look very different from one another.

1. Present Tense Conjugation:

  • ich bin (I am)
  • du bist (you are - informal)
  • er/sie/es ist (he/she/it is)
  • wir sind (we are)
  • ihr seid (you all are - informal)
  • sie/Sie sind (they are / you are - formal)

2. The Nominative Rule:
When using sein to link a subject to a noun, both stay in the nominative case. For example: Er ist ein guter Lehrer (He is a good teacher).

3. Past Tense:
While most verbs use the Perfekt in speech, sein is usually used in its simple past form, war (was), even in casual conversation.

4. Auxiliary Function:
It is used to form the past tense for verbs involving movement or a change of state (e.g., Ich bin gegangen - I have gone).

Examples (5)

  1. Ich bin Student und ich bin heute zu Hause.

    I am a student and I am at home today.

    Word by Word: I am student and I am today at home.

    This shows 'sein' used for both identity (student) and location (at home).

  2. Bist du müde?

    Are you tired?

    Word by Word: Are you tired?

    A simple question using the 'du' form of 'sein'.

  3. Wir sind gestern nach Berlin gefahren.

    We traveled to Berlin yesterday.

    Word by Word: We are yesterday to Berlin driven.

    Here, 'sind' acts as an auxiliary verb for a verb of motion (fahren).

  4. Das ist mir egal.

    I don't care / That is all the same to me.

    Word by Word: That is to-me equal.

    An idiomatic expression using 'ist' with a dative pronoun (mir).

  5. Ihr seid sehr freundlich.

    You all are very friendly.

    Word by Word: You (plural) are very friendly.

    Demonstrates the 'ihr' form. Note that 'seid' sounds like 'seit' but is spelled with a 'd'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'sein' for the continuous 'ing' tense.

    Ich bin essend.
    Ich esse.

    German does not have a continuous tense like English. To say 'I am eating', simply use the present tense.

  • Using 'sein' to express feeling cold or hot.

    Ich bin kalt.
    Mir ist kalt.

    'Ich bin kalt' means you are cold to the touch (like an object). To say you feel cold, use the dative 'Mir ist...'.

  • Confusing the verb 'sein' with the possessive 'sein'.

    Das ist bin Hund.
    Das ist sein Hund.

    'sein' is also a possessive pronoun meaning 'his'. Context determines if it is the verb 'to be' or the word 'his'.

How It Connects

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seinLevel 1To Be (Sein)

Learn This First

To learn the verb 'sein' (to be), you first need to know the personal pronouns, as this verb is highly irregular and changes its form for every person.

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sein