The irregular verb 'wissen' in German
Meaning of "wissen"
"Wissen" in German means "to know" and it is a rather strange verb, which is why we’ve given it is own article.
Non-modal verb and its need for the particle "zu"
Though it is not a modal verb, its conjugation is like that of modal verbs.
Modal verbs are characterized because an infinitive complements their meaning.
Ich will leben
I want to live
The verb "wissen" (like modal verbs) also can have another verb in infinitive and is one of the few verbs that doesn't require putting the particle zu in front of the infinitive.
Wir wissen, was zu machen ist
we know what has to be done
Subordinate construction with the verb "wissen"
The verb "wissen" is used normally with subordinate clauses. We’re going to show the most common structure of the verb "wissen".
dass
Ich weiß, dass du mir nicht glaubst
I know that you don’t believe me
was
Ich weiß, was ich will
I know what I want
wer
Ich weiß, wer du bist
I know who you are
Others
Ich weiß, woran du denkst
I know what you’re thinking about
Gammar of 'wissen'
"wissen" is an irregular verb with haben as auxiliary verb.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wissen | (weiß) | wusste | gewusst | to know |
Conjugation of "wissen"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich weiß | I know |
| du weißt | you know |
| er weiß | he knows |
| wir wissen | we know |
| ihr wisst | you know |
| sie wissen | they know |
Du weißt, wie das geht
You know how it works
Wissen Sie, wo Opel gegründet wurde?
Do you know where Opel was founded?
Ich weiß nicht, wie es weitergeht
I don’t know how it will continue
More information about present simple
Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich wisse |
| du wissest |
| er wisse |
| wir wissen |
| ihr wisset |
| sie wissen |
Er hat mir gesagt, dass er nicht wisse, was er wolle
He told me he doesn’t know what he wants
Simple Past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich wusste | I knew |
| du wusstest | you knew |
| er wusste | he knew |
| wir wussten | we knew |
| ihr wusstet | you knew |
| sie wussten | they knew |
Ich wusste es nicht
I didn’t know it
Wir wussten, dass es falsch war
We knew that it was a wrong
More information about Präteritum
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich habe gewusst | I have known |
| du hast gewusst | you have known |
| er hat gewusst | he has known |
| wir haben gewusst | we have known |
| ihr habt gewusst | you have known |
| sie haben gewusst | they have known |
Ich habe nicht gewusst, dass sie so gut singen kann
I didn’t know that she sang so well
Ich habe schon gewusst, dass er sehr gut springen kann
I already knew that he could jump very well
More information about Perfekt
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich wüsste |
| du wüsstest |
| er wüsste |
| wir wüssten |
| ihr wüsstet |
| sie wüssten |
More information about Konjunktiv II
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Imperativ | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd Person Singular | wisse | know |
| 2nd Person Plural | wisset | know |
More information about imperative
Participle (Partizip)
| gewusst |
Auxilary verb (Hilfsverb)
| haben |
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