sein or haben — Which German Verb Do You Need?
After this lesson you can choose correctly between the two most common German verbs.
Do this first: haben — to have
sein or haben — Which German Verb Do You Need?
Two verbs carry half of spoken German, and English pushes you to the wrong one constantly. The split is simple: what you ARE takes sein, what you HAVE takes haben.
Two verbs carry half of spoken German, and English pushes you to the wrong one constantly. The split is simple: what you ARE takes sein, what you HAVE takes haben.
identity — Ich bin Anna.
↓
possessions — Ich habe ein Auto.
identity — Ich bin Anna. becomes possessions — Ich habe ein Auto..
The video for this lesson is being made. Here is the idea in the meantime.
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Kulturnotiz
Du hast Recht — "you are right" — is heard far more often in German conversation than its English equivalent, and so is the softer Da hast du Recht ("you have a point there"). German discussion tends to concede a point out loud rather than letting it pass silently, which can read as unusually blunt agreement to English speakers. It is not flattery; it is just how the conversation is structured.
Common questions
+What is the simplest rule?
sein for what something is — identity, origin, job, state, location, age. haben for what someone has — possessions, family, time, appointments. Then learn the haben-sensation phrases as fixed blocks.
+Why is it Ich habe Hunger and not Ich bin hungrig?
Ich bin hungrig is grammatically fine but far less common. Germans treat hunger as something you have. Use the haben version as your default.
+Why is age sein and not haben?
German follows English here, not the Romance languages. Ich bin 30 Jahre alt. Speakers of French, Spanish or Italian produce Ich habe 30 Jahre almost automatically.
+Why is Mir ist kalt not Ich bin kalt?
Because Ich bin kalt describes your personality — cold-hearted. Physical sensations use a dative construction: mir ist kalt, mir ist warm, mir ist schlecht.