Haben Conjugation in German

haben means “to have” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 2 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” — “I have an interesting book.” — and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of haben — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: haben
  • English: to have
  • Verb type: Irregular
  • Irregular in: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle
  • Present participle (Partizip I): habend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): gehabt
  • Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
  • Pattern: weak in the verified tables

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for haben, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read haben in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about haben

  1. It is irregular in 11 tense(s): present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gehabt. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
  3. The participles are habend and gehabt: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for haben. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present (Präsens)

Person Form
ich habe
du hast
er/sie/es hat
wir haben
ihr habt
sie/Sie haben

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich habe ein großes Haus.” — “I have a big house.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich hatte
du hattest
er/sie/es hatte
wir hatten
ihr hattet
sie/Sie hatten

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du hattest ein großes Haus.” — “You had a big house.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe gehabt
du hast gehabt
er/sie/es hat gehabt
wir haben gehabt
ihr habt gehabt
sie/Sie haben gehabt

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Er hat ein großes Haus gehabt.” — “He has had a big house.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte gehabt
du hattest gehabt
er/sie/es hatte gehabt
wir hatten gehabt
ihr hattet gehabt
sie/Sie hatten gehabt

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich hatte ein großes Haus gehabt.” — “I had had a big house.”

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde haben
du wirst haben
er/sie/es wird haben
wir werden haben
ihr werdet haben
sie/Sie werden haben

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich werde ein großes Haus haben.” — “I will have a big house.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde gehabt haben
du wirst gehabt haben
er/sie/es wird gehabt haben
wir werden gehabt haben
ihr werdet gehabt haben
sie/Sie werden gehabt haben

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du wirst ein großes Haus gehabt haben.” — “You will have had a big house.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich habe
du habest
er/sie/es habe
wir haben
ihr habet
sie/Sie haben

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Er habe ein großes Haus.” — “He has a big house.”

Konjunktiv II (conditional)

Person Form
ich hätte
du hättest
er/sie/es hätte
wir hätten
ihr hättet
sie/Sie hätten

Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich hätte ein großes Haus.” — “I would have a big house.”

Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)

Person Form
ich hätte gehabt
du hättest gehabt
er/sie/es hätte gehabt
wir hätten gehabt
ihr hättet gehabt
sie/Sie hätten gehabt

The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Er hätte ein großes Haus gehabt.” — “He would have had a big house.”

Imperative (Imperativ)

Person Form
du hab
wir haben
ihr habt
sie/Sie haben

The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. With haben this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Hab ein großes Haus!” — “Have a big house!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle (Partizip I) habend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle habend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle (Partizip II) gehabt

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.” — “I have had an interesting book.”

Infinitive (Infinitiv)

Form German
Infinitive haben

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with haben, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” — “I have an interesting book.”
  2. “Du hattest ein großes Haus.” — “You had a big house.”
  3. “Er hat viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “He has had a lot of time today.”
  4. “Ich werde ein interessantes Buch haben.” — “I will have an interesting book.”
  5. “Du hättest ein großes Haus.” — “You would have a big house.”
  6. “Ich hatte viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “I had had a lot of time today.”
  7. “Du wirst ein großes Haus gehabt haben.” — “You will have had a big house.”
  8. “Er habe viel Zeit heute.” — “He has a lot of time today.”
  9. “Ich hätte ein interessantes Buch gehabt.” — “I would have had an interesting book.”
  10. “Hab ein interessantes Buch!” — “Have an interesting book!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich haben ein interessantes Buch.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.”

The infinitive haben never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form habe.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich haben ein interessantes Buch.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.”

haben is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with habe.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gehabt, not the present.

4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin ein interessantes Buch gehabt.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.”

The Perfekt of haben is formed with haben plus the past participle gehabt: the ich form is habe gehabt. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich hatte ein interessantes Buch gestern.” (in everyday speech)

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.”

In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gehabt is the usual past tense. The preterite hatte is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.

6. Using the du form when talking to a group

✗ Wrong: “Hab ein interessantes Buch!” (said to several people)

✓ Right: “Habt ein interessantes Buch!”

The du imperative hab is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form habt.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on haben. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of haben in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) habe
    • B) hast
    • C) hat
    • D) haben

  2. What is the er/sie/es form of haben in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) hatten
    • B) hattet
    • C) hatte
    • D) hattest

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of haben in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) hat gehabt
    • B) habe gehabt
    • C) hast gehabt
    • D) haben gehabt

  4. What is the du form of haben in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werden haben
    • B) wirst haben
    • C) werde haben
    • D) wird haben

  5. What is the ich form of haben in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) hättest
    • B) hätten
    • C) hättet
    • D) hätte

  6. What is the wir form of haben in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hattet gehabt
    • B) hatten gehabt
    • C) hatte gehabt
    • D) hattest gehabt

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of haben in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) habe
    • B) habest
    • C) haben
    • D) habet

  8. What is the du form of haben in the Imperative (Imperativ)?

    • A) hast
    • B) hab
    • C) haben
    • D) habt

  9. What is the past participle of haben?

    • A) gemusst
    • B) gehabt
    • C) geworden
    • D) gekonnt

  10. What does haben mean in English?

  • A) to have to
  • B) to have
  • C) to become
  • D) to be able to

Answer key

  1. A) habe — the ich form of haben in the Present (Präsens) is habe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) hatte — the er/sie/es form of haben in the Preterite (Präteritum) is hatte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. A) hat gehabt — the er/sie/es form of haben in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gehabt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) wirst haben — the du form of haben in the Future (Futur I) is wirst haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) hätte — the ich form of haben in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is hätte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) hatten gehabt — the wir form of haben in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gehabt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) habe — the er/sie/es form of haben in the Konjunktiv I is habe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) hab — the du form of haben in the Imperative (Imperativ) is hab. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) gehabt — the past participle of haben is gehabt; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to have — haben means “to have” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does haben mean in English?

haben means “to have”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is haben regular or irregular?

haben is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is habend and the past participle is gehabt.

What are the participles of haben?

The present participle (Partizip I) is habend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gehabt — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gehabt.

Which auxiliary does haben take in the Perfekt?

haben takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gehabt. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gehabt.

Does German have a separate conditional tense?

No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form hätte is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte gehabt covers “would have” meanings.

How do I say “I have an interesting book” in German?

Say “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” — “I have an interesting book.” The ich form of the present is habe, and it is the form you will use most often.

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