haben

To Have (Haben)

Level 1

haben (to have) is a fundamental German verb. It is used for possession (Ich habe ein Buch), certain idioms (Ich habe Hunger), and as an auxiliary verb for the Perfekt tense.

How It Works

The verb haben is one of the most important verbs in German. It serves two primary roles:

1. As a Main Verb: It indicates possession or relationship. German uses haben with specific nouns to express states where English often uses 'to be'.

  • Ich habe Hunger. (I am hungry.)
  • Hast du Angst? (Are you afraid?)
  • Er hat recht. (He is right.)
  • Wir haben Glück. (We are lucky.)
  • Ich habe Zeit. (I have time / I am free.)
  • Ich habe dich gern. (I like you / I am fond of you - using gern.)

Note on Temperature and Age: Do not use haben for age or ambient temperature. For age, use sein (e.g., Ich bin zwanzig). For feeling hot or cold, use an impersonal construction with mir ist (e.g., Mir ist kalt - I am cold) or Es ist kalt. However, for medical fevers, you do use haben (e.g., Ich habe Fieber or Ich habe Temperatur).

2. As an Auxiliary (Helping) Verb: It is the default verb used to form the Present Perfect (Perfekt) for most verbs. It combines with a Past Participle at the end of the sentence. Specifically, almost all transitive verbs (verbs taking a direct accusative object) and all reflexive verbs use haben.
Note: While haben is the default, intransitive verbs of motion or change of state use sein as the auxiliary. However, if a verb of motion takes a direct object, it reverts to using haben (e.g., Ich habe das Auto gefahren.).

Conjugation (Present Tense):

  • ich habe
  • du hast (Irregular: drops the 'b')
  • er/sie/es hat (Irregular: drops the 'b')
  • wir haben
  • ihr habt
  • sie/Sie haben

Simple Past (Präteritum) and Present Perfect (Perfekt): The past tense form hatte (had) is extremely common in both spoken and written German, often preferred over the Perfekt tense. For example: Ich hatte gestern keine Zeit. (I had no time yesterday.) However, you can also form the Perfekt using its past participle gehabt (e.g., Ich habe gestern keine Zeit gehabt.).

Polite Requests (Konjunktiv II): The form hätte is frequently used for polite requests. For example: Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee. (I would like a coffee.)

Obligation (haben + zu): When combined with zu and an infinitive, it expresses obligation, similar to 'have to' in English. For example: Ich habe heute viel zu tun. (I have a lot to do today.)

Grammar Note: Because haben is a transitive verb, the object must be in the Accusative case. For example: Ich habe einen Hund (masculine accusative).

Examples (5)

  1. Ich habe einen Bruder.

    I have a brother.

    Word by Word: I have a brother.

    Note the use of the accusative 'einen' because 'haben' triggers the accusative case.

  2. Hast du heute Zeit?

    Do you have time today?

    Word by Word: Have you today time?

    In questions, the verb 'haben' moves to the first position.

  3. Wir haben Hunger.

    We are hungry.

    Word by Word: We have hunger.

    German uses 'haben' with the noun 'Hunger' instead of 'sein' (to be) with an adjective.

  4. Er hat ein neues Auto.

    He has a new car.

    Word by Word: He has a new car.

    Notice the irregular form 'hat' (not 'habt') for the third person singular.

  5. Ich habe gestern Pizza gegessen.

    I ate pizza yesterday.

    Word by Word: I have yesterday pizza eaten.

    Here, 'haben' acts as a helping verb to form the past tense (Perfekt).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'sein' (to be) for hunger or thirst.

    Ich bin Hunger.
    Ich habe Hunger.

    In German, you 'have' hunger, thirst, or fear; you are not those things.

  • Forgetting to drop the 'b' in the 'du' and 'er/sie/es' forms.

    Du habst ein Buch.
    Du hast ein Buch.

    The stem 'hab-' loses the 'b' in the second and third person singular.

  • Using the Nominative case for the object.

    Ich habe ein Schlüssel.
    Ich habe einen Schlüssel.

    The object of 'haben' must be in the Accusative case. 'Schlüssel' is masculine, so 'ein' becomes 'einen'.

How It Connects

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habenLevel 1To Have (Haben)

Learn This First

To learn the verb 'haben', you first need to be familiar with personal pronouns in German, as the verb's conjugation changes depending on the subject.

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