The irregular verb 'essen' in German
Meaning of "essen" in German
The verb "essen" means in German:
to eat (transitive or intransitive verb)
Was willst du essen?
What do you want to eat?
Wann hat er gestern gegessen?
When did he eat yesterday?
Ich esse gern Fish
I like to eat fish
Structure: essen + accusative
Ich esse ein Eis
I’m eating an ice cream
Grammar of "essen"
essen is an irregular verb.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| essen | isst | aß | gegessen | to eat |
Main article: Irregular verbs.
Conjugation of "essen"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich esse | I eat |
| du isst | you eat |
| er/sie/es isst | he/she/it eat |
| wir essen | we eat |
| ihr esst | you eat |
| sie essen | they eat |
Mareike isst sehr gerne Obst und Gemüse
Mareike likes to eat fruit and vegetables
Isst du irgendetwas gar nicht gerne?
Do you eat something you don’t like at all?
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich habe gegessen | I have eaten |
| du hast gegessen | you have eaten |
| er/sie/es hat gegessen | he has eaten |
| wir haben gegessen | we have eaten |
| ihr habt gegessen | you have eaten |
| sie haben gegessen | they have eaten |
Wir haben in der Stadt zusammen ein Eis gegessen
We ate ice cream together in the city
Simple past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich aß | I ate |
| du aßt/aßest | you ate |
| er/sie/es aß | he/she/it ate |
| wir aßen | we ate |
| ihr aßet | you ate |
| sie aßen | they ate |
Früher war ich Vegetarier und aß kein Fleisch
I was a vegetarian earlier and I didn’t eat meat
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich äß |
| du äßt |
| er/sie/es äß |
| wir äßen |
| ihr äßet |
| sie aßen |
Participle (Partizip)
| Partizip I | Partizip II |
|---|---|
| essend (eating) | gegessen (eaten) |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person singular | iss | eat |
| 2nd person plural | esst | eat |
| Polite form | essen Sie | eat |
Iss deinen Teller leer, bevor du aufstehst
Empty your plate before you get up
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