German Verbs Haben (to Have) and Sein (to Be)

German Verbs Haben (to Have) and Sein (to Be) The two most important German verbs are  haben  (to have) and  sein  (to be). As in most languages, the verb to be is one of the oldest verbs in German, and therefore one of the most irregular. The verb to have is only slightly less irregular, but no less vital to surviving speaking German. The Rules of Haben in German Well start with  haben. Look at the following table for the conjugation of  haben  in the present tense, along with sample sentences. Notice the strong resemblance to English for many forms of this verb, with most forms only one letter off from the English ( habe/have, hat/has). In the case of the familiar you (du), the German verb is identical to Old English: thou hast is du hast. Haben  is also used in some German expressions that are translated with to be in English. For example:   Ich habe Hunger.  (Im hungry.) Haben  -  To  Have Deutsch English Sample Sentences Singular ich habe I have Ich habe einen roten Wagen. (I have a red car.) du hast you (fam.) have Du hast mein Buch. (You have my book.) er hat he has Er hat ein blaues Auge. (He has a black eye.) sie hat she has Sie hat blaue Augen. (She has blue eyes.) es hat it has Es hat keine Fehler. (It has no flaws.) ​ Plural wir haben we have Wir haben keine Zeit. (We have no time.) ihr habt you (guys) have Habt ihr euer Geld? (Do yall have your money?) sie haben they have Sie haben kein Geld. (They have no money.) Sie haben you have Haben Sie das Geld? (You, sir, have no money.) Note: Sie, formal you, is both singular and plural. To Be or Not to Be  (Sein Oder Nicht Sein) Look at the following table for the conjugation of  sein  (to be) in the present tense. Notice how similar the German and English forms are in the third person (ist/is). Sein  -  To  Be Deutsch English Sample Sentences Singular ich bin I am Ich bin es. (Its me.) du bist you (fam.) are Du bist mein Schatz. (You are my darling.) er ist he is Er ist ein netter Kerl. (He is a nice guy.) sie ist she is Ist sie da? (Is she here?) es ist it is Es ist mein Buch. (It is my book.) Plural wir sind we are Wir sind das Volk. (We are the people/nation.) Note: This was the slogan of 1989 East German protests in Leipzig. ihr seid you (guys) are Seid ihr unsere Freunde? (Are you guys our friends?) sie sind they are Sie sind unsere Freunde. (They are our friends.) Sie sind you are Sind Sie Herr Meier? (Are you, sir, Mr. Meier?) Note: Sie, formal you, is both singular and plural.