sein Conjugation: The German Verb 'to be'
After this lesson you can say who you are, where you are from and how you feel.
Do this first: Personal pronouns
sein Conjugation: The German Verb 'to be'
sein means "to be", and it is the most used verb in the language. It is also completely irregular, so it is learned as a list rather than worked out.
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Kulturnotiz
When you give your job in German, you drop the article: Ich bin Ärztin, not Ich bin eine Ärztin. English needs “a doctor”; German does not. The same goes for nationalities — Ich bin Schweizerin, never Ich bin eine Schweizerin.
Common questions
+Why is sein irregular?
Because it is ancient and heavily used. The most frequent verbs in almost every language resist regularisation — English “to be” (am/is/are/was/were) is irregular for exactly the same reason.
+What is the difference between sie sind and Sie sind?
Only the capital letter, and it matters. Lower-case sie sind means “they are”. Capital-S Sie sind means “you are” when speaking formally. In speech, context tells you which one is meant.
+When do I use ihr seid instead of Sie sind?
ihr seid addresses two or more people you would each call du — friends, family, children. Sie sind is formal, and works for one person or many.
+Is sein used for the past tense too?
Yes. Sein is one of the two helper verbs for the Perfekt: Ich bin gegangen (“I went”). Verbs of movement and change of state take sein; most others take haben. That is covered in lesson 29.