The present tense of verbs with stems ending in "-d"
Verbs whose stem ends in "-d" add an extra "-e-" before the normal verb endings in the "du", "ihr" and "er/sie/es" forms of the present tense. This is true of two verbs which we have met in this section - "verbinden" (= to connect) and "melden" (= to answer). It also affects the present tense of the verb "finden" (= to find) which we have met earlier.

Grammar 15: The present tense of "verbinden" Singular   ich verbinde I connect du verbindest Sie verbinden You connect (informal/formal)  er/sie/es verbindet He/she/it connects Plural   wir verbinden We connect ihr verbindet Sie verbinden You connect (informal/formal)  sie verbinden They connect

Examples of other verbs with a stem ending in "-d" would be:

• Niemand meldet sich.
  (No-one is answering.)
• Findest du das Hotel?
  (Will you find the hotel?)

The present tense of verbs with stems ending in "-t"
The same principle is true for verbs whose stem ends in "-t", such as "warten" (= to wait), "lauten" (= to be) and "antworten" (= to answer). These verbs also add an extra "-e-" before the normal verb endings in the "du", "ihr" and "er/sie/es" forms of the present tense.

Grammar 16: The present tense of "warten" Singular   ich warte I wait du wartest Sie warten You wait (informal/formal)  er/sie/es wartet He/she/it waits Plural   wir warten We wait ihr wartet Sie warten You wait (informal/formal)  sie warten They wait

The present tenses of the other aforementioned "-t-" verbs would give us the following examples:

• Die Nummer lautet: 28 50 67.
  (The number is 285067.)
• Ihr antwortet nicht!
  (You're not answering me!)

The irregular verb "sprechen"
We have also come across a further verb which has an irregular present tense. The verb "sprechen" (= to speak) changes the stem vowel from "-e-" to "-i-" in the "du" and "er/sie/es" forms of the present tense.

Grammar 17: The present tense of "sprechen" Singular   ich spreche I speak du sprichst Sie sprechen You speak (informal/formal)  er/sie/es spricht He/she/it speaks Plural   wir sprechen We speak ihr sprecht Sie sprechen You speak (informal/formal)  sie sprechen They wait

 Chapter 8.14: Vocabulary: The Telephone

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