Helfen Conjugation in German
helfen means “to help” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 38 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” — “I help my friend.” — 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 helfen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: helfen
- English: to help
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): helfend
- Past participle (Partizip II): geholfen
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Pattern: strong in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for helfen, 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 helfen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about helfen
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle geholfen. 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.
- The participles are helfend and geholfen: 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 helfen. 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 | helfe |
| du | hilfst |
| er/sie/es | hilft |
| wir | helfen |
| ihr | helft |
| sie/Sie | helfen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With helfen 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 helfe meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “I help my mother in the kitchen.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | half |
| du | halfst |
| er/sie/es | half |
| wir | halfen |
| ihr | halft |
| sie/Sie | halfen |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With helfen 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 halfst meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “You helped my mother in the kitchen.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe geholfen |
| du | hast geholfen |
| er/sie/es | hat geholfen |
| wir | haben geholfen |
| ihr | habt geholfen |
| sie/Sie | haben geholfen |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat meiner Mutter in der Küche geholfen.” — “He has helped my mother in the kitchen.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte geholfen |
| du | hattest geholfen |
| er/sie/es | hatte geholfen |
| wir | hatten geholfen |
| ihr | hattet geholfen |
| sie/Sie | hatten geholfen |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte meiner Mutter in der Küche geholfen.” — “I had helped my mother in the kitchen.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde helfen |
| du | wirst helfen |
| er/sie/es | wird helfen |
| wir | werden helfen |
| ihr | werdet helfen |
| sie/Sie | werden helfen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde meiner Mutter in der Küche helfen.” — “I will help my mother in the kitchen.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde geholfen haben |
| du | wirst geholfen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird geholfen haben |
| wir | werden geholfen haben |
| ihr | werdet geholfen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden geholfen haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst meiner Mutter in der Küche geholfen haben.” — “You will have helped my mother in the kitchen.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | helfe |
| du | helfest |
| er/sie/es | helfe |
| wir | helfen |
| ihr | helfet |
| sie/Sie | helfen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er helfe meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “He helps my mother in the kitchen.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hälfe |
| du | hälfest |
| er/sie/es | hälfe |
| wir | hälfen |
| ihr | hälfet |
| sie/Sie | hälfen |
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. For example: “Ich hälfe meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “I would help my mother in the kitchen.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte geholfen |
| du | hättest geholfen |
| er/sie/es | hätte geholfen |
| wir | hätten geholfen |
| ihr | hättet geholfen |
| sie/Sie | hätten geholfen |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte meiner Mutter in der Küche geholfen.” — “He would have helped my mother in the kitchen.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | hilf |
| wir | helfen |
| ihr | helft |
| sie/Sie | helfen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. With helfen 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: “Hilf meiner Mutter in der Küche!” — “Help my mother in the kitchen!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | helfend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle helfend 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) | geholfen |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.” — “I have helped my friend.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | helfen |
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 helfen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” — “I help my friend.”
- “Du halfst meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “You helped my mother in the kitchen.”
- “Er hat den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “He has helped the children with their homework.”
- “Ich werde meinem Freund helfen.” — “I will help my friend.”
- “Du hälfest meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “You would help my mother in the kitchen.”
- “Ich hatte den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “I had helped the children with their homework.”
- “Du wirst meiner Mutter in der Küche geholfen haben.” — “You will have helped my mother in the kitchen.”
- “Er helfe den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben.” — “He helps the children with their homework.”
- “Ich hätte meinem Freund geholfen.” — “I would have helped my friend.”
- “Hilf meinem Freund!” — “Help my friend!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich helfen meinem Freund.”
✓ Right: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.”
The infinitive helfen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form helfe.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich helfen meinem Freund.”
✓ Right: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.”
helfen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with helfe.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich helfe meinem Freund gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe geholfen, not the present.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin meinem Freund geholfen.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.”
The Perfekt of helfen is formed with haben plus the past participle geholfen: the ich form is habe geholfen. 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 half meinem Freund gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe geholfen is the usual past tense. The preterite half is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Using the du form when talking to a group
✗ Wrong: “Hilf meinem Freund!” (said to several people)
✓ Right: “Helft meinem Freund!”
The du imperative hilf is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form helft.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on helfen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of helfen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) helfe
- B) hilfst
- C) hilft
- D) helfen
What is the er/sie/es form of helfen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) halft
- B) half
- C) halfst
- D) halfen
What is the er/sie/es form of helfen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe geholfen
- B) hast geholfen
- C) haben geholfen
- D) hat geholfen
What is the du form of helfen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden helfen
- B) wirst helfen
- C) werde helfen
- D) wird helfen
What is the ich form of helfen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) hälfet
- B) hälfe
- C) hälfest
- D) hälfen
What is the wir form of helfen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten geholfen
- B) hatte geholfen
- C) hattest geholfen
- D) hattet geholfen
What is the er/sie/es form of helfen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) helfe
- B) helfest
- C) helfen
- D) helfet
What is the du form of helfen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) hilfst
- B) hilf
- C) helfen
- D) helft
What is the past participle of helfen?
- A) geholfen
- B) gelernt
- C) studiert
- D) gelesen
What does helfen mean in English?
- A) to help
- B) to learn
- C) to study
- D) to read
Answer key
- A) helfe — the ich form of helfen in the Present (Präsens) is helfe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) half — the er/sie/es form of helfen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is half. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat geholfen — the er/sie/es form of helfen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat geholfen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst helfen — the du form of helfen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst helfen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hälfe — the ich form of helfen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is hälfe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten geholfen — the wir form of helfen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten geholfen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) helfe — the er/sie/es form of helfen in the Konjunktiv I is helfe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hilf — the du form of helfen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is hilf. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) geholfen — the past participle of helfen is geholfen; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to help — helfen means “to help” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does helfen mean in English?
helfen means “to help”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is helfen regular or irregular?
helfen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is helfend and the past participle is geholfen.
What are the participles of helfen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is helfend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is geholfen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe geholfen.
Which auxiliary does helfen take in the Perfekt?
helfen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe geholfen. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle geholfen.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form hälfe 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 geholfen covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I help my friend” in German?
Say “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” — “I help my friend.” The ich form of the present is helfe, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of helfen — every tense of helfen in one place.
- Helfen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Helfen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Lernen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Studieren conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Lesen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise helfen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise helfen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise helfen with the interactive tool.