sein und haben

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📘 Grammatik · Unit 2 · 1/8

sein und haben

4 parts11 examples3 common mistakes

Example

  1. Ich bin Ismail und komme aus der Türkei.I am Ismail and I come from Turkey.

Rule

sein and haben are the two most important verbs in German: they describe who you are and what you have — and later they form the perfect tense.

Practise

This topic’s own test: 10 sets, 10 questions in each.Grammatik-Test →

Both are irregular

These two verbs follow no rule. Learn the forms by heart — you will need them in every second sentence.

Personseinhaben
ichbinhabe
dubisthast
er/sie/esisthat
wirsindhaben
ihrseidhabt
sie/Siesindhaben

What sein is used for

sein links the subject with a characteristic, a profession, an origin or a place. After sein comes not the accusative but the nominative.

  1. Ich bin Ismail und komme aus der Türkei.I am Ismail and I come from Turkey.
  2. Sie ist Krankenschwester.She is a nurse.Beruf: ohne Artikel
  3. Wir sind müde.We are tired.
  4. Das Wetter ist heute schön.The weather is nice today.

What haben is used for

haben expresses possession, but also states such as hunger, time or fear. What you have is in the accusative.

  1. Ich habe morgen einen Termin.I have an appointment tomorrow.einen = Akkusativ
  2. Hast du Zeit?Do you have time?
  3. Wir haben keine Kinder.We have no children.
  4. Er hat Hunger.He is hungry.Zustand ohne Artikel

Professions without an article

With profession, nationality and marital status there is no article after sein. This is different from English (I am a teacher).

  1. Ich bin Lehrer.I am a teacher.
  2. Sie ist verheiratet.She is married.
  3. Er ist Schweizer.He is Swiss.

Common mistakes

Ich bin 30 Jahre. Ich bin 30 Jahre alt.
When giving your age, alt is part of it — otherwise the sentence is incomplete.
Ich habe kalt. Mir ist kalt.
You express feeling hot or cold with sein in the dative, not with haben.
Ich bin ein Lehrer. Ich bin Lehrer.
Professions stand after sein without an article.

Quick check · 3 questions

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