Verdienen Present Tense Conjugation in German
The present tense of verdienen — “to earn” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for verdienen, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Er verdient viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “He earns a lot of money as a teacher.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for verdienen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of verdienen
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for verdienen. verdienen is irregular in the present, so learn the forms in the table as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive.
Present (Präsens) — verdienen
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | verdiene |
| du | verdienst |
| er/sie/es | verdient |
| wir | verdienen |
| ihr | verdient |
| sie/Sie | verdienen |
The present participle of verdienen is verdienend and the past participle is verdient. You need the participle for the perfect tenses, and the present participle for adjectival use.
How the present tense of verdienen is formed
The present tense of verdienen does not follow the regular pattern, so the stem-and-endings description is only a starting point: ich → verdiene, du → verdienst, er/sie/es → verdient, wir → verdienen, ihr → verdient, sie/Sie → verdienen. Learn these six forms as a set — they are the forms you will use most often, and the subjunctive and imperative are built on them.
When to use the present tense of verdienen
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with verdienen: “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “I earn a lot of money as a teacher.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with verdienen: “Du verdienst viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “You earn a lot of money as a teacher.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with verdienen: “Er verdient viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “He earns a lot of money as a teacher.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with verdienen: “Wir verdienen viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “We earn a lot of money as a teacher.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with verdienen: “Sie verdienen viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “They earn a lot of money as a teacher.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: verdienen now, verdienen later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present: “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “I earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Future: “Ich werde viel Geld als Lehrer verdienen.” — “I will earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Present: “Du verdienst viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “You earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Future: “Du wirst viel Geld als Lehrer verdienen.” — “You will earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Present: “Wir verdienen viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “We earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Future: “Wir werden viel Geld als Lehrer verdienen.” — “We will earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Example sentences: verdienen in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of verdienen, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “I earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
- “Du verdienst viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “You earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
- “Er verdient viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “He earns a lot of money as a teacher.”
- “Wir verdienen viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “We earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
- “Ihr verdient viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “You earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
- “Sie verdienen viel Geld als Lehrer.” — “They earn a lot of money as a teacher.”
Common mistakes with verdienen in the present tense
1. Guessing the present from the infinitive
✗ Wrong: “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.” (a guessed regular form)
✓ Right: “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.”
verdienen is irregular in the present: the ich form is verdiene, not what the regular endings would give.
2. Mixing up the persons
✗ Wrong: “Du verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.”
✓ Right: “Du verdienst viel Geld als Lehrer.”
After du you need verdienst, not the ich form verdiene. Each person has its own ending.
3. Using the future for a habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich werde viel Geld als Lehrer verdienen.”
✓ Right: “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.”
A habit that happens every day takes the present (verdiene), not the future.
4. Using the Präteritum for something happening now
✗ Wrong: “Ich verdiente viel Geld als Lehrer.”
✓ Right: “Ich verdiene viel Geld als Lehrer.”
Something happening right now takes the present (verdiene), not the Präteritum.
Quiz: verdienen in the present tense
What is the ich form of verdienen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) verdienst
- B) verdiene
- C) verdient
- D) verdienen
What is the du form of verdienen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) verdienst
- B) verdienen
- C) verdiene
- D) verdient
What is the er/sie/es form of verdienen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) verdienst
- B) verdienen
- C) verdient
- D) verdiene
What is the wir form of verdienen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) verdienst
- B) verdiene
- C) verdient
- D) verdienen
What is the ihr form of verdienen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) verdienen
- B) verdient
- C) verdiene
- D) verdienst
What is the sie/Sie form of verdienen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) verdienst
- B) verdient
- C) verdienen
- D) verdiene
What is the past participle of verdienen?
- A) verdiente
- B) verdienend
- C) verdiene
- D) verdient
Which auxiliary does verdienen take in the Perfekt?
- A) werden
- B) sein
- C) haben
Answer key
- B) verdiene — the ich form of verdienen in the present tense is verdiene.
- A) verdienst — the du form of verdienen in the present tense is verdienst.
- C) verdient — the er/sie/es form of verdienen in the present tense is verdient.
- D) verdienen — the wir form of verdienen in the present tense is verdienen.
- B) verdient — the ihr form of verdienen in the present tense is verdient.
- C) verdienen — the sie/Sie form of verdienen in the present tense is verdienen.
- D) verdient — the past participle of verdienen is verdient; the Perfekt uses haben + verdient.
- C) haben — verdienen takes haben in the Perfekt: habe verdient.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of verdienen formed?
From the stem plus the present endings: ich → verdiene, du → verdienst, er/sie/es → verdient, wir → verdienen, ihr → verdient, sie/Sie → verdienen. The German present tense guide explains the pattern for all verbs.
Is verdienen regular in the present tense?
No — verdienen is irregular in the present tense, so learn the table above as a set. The other tenses are listed on the full conjugation page.
What is the past participle of verdienen?
The past participle is verdient. Use it with haben for the Perfekt, as in habe verdient, and with haben in the past for the Plusquamperfekt, as in hatte verdient.
Related pages
- verdienen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- verdienen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise verdienen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise verdienen with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.