sein · haben · werden
sein, haben, werden
sein, haben and werden are the three most-used German verbs, and they double as auxiliary verbs: ich bin, ich habe, ich werde.
Ich bin 25 Jahre is left hanging: either add alt (Ich bin 25 Jahre alt) or stop at Ich bin 25, just like English “I’m 25”. And age takes sein, never haben.
Why we start with these
ShortcutThe wir and sie/Sie rows are the infinitive in all three verbs: sind · haben · werden. The rest is what you have to memorise.
The first sentence you meet in German is almost always built with one of these three. The reason is simple: they work not only with their own meaning but also as auxiliary verbs for other tenses — just like “be”, “have” and “will” in English.
Ich bin Lehrer.
I’m a teacher. — own meaning
Ich habe Zeit.
I have time. — own meaning
Ich bin gekommen.
I came / I have come. — auxiliary of the Perfekt
Ich werde Arzt.
I’m going to be / I’m becoming a doctor.
All three are irregular. You can’t build them the way you build ich lerne · du lernst; the tables have to be learnt one by one. The good news: there are only 18 cells in total and you will meet them ten times a day — they stick fast.
Three tables — the page to save
| sein · to be | haben · to have | werden · to become | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | bin | habe | werde |
| du | bist | hast | wirst |
| er / sie / es | ist | hat | wird |
| wir | sind | haben | werden |
| ihr | seid | habt | werdet |
| sie / Sie | sind | haben | werden |
Three cells to watch: du bist (there is a -t — it is not bis), ihr seid (ends in -d, not seit — that is a preposition), du wirst (there is no such thing as werdst).
- wir and sie/Sie are always the same, and they are the infinitive itself: sind · haben · werden.
- The er/sie/es row is always short: ist · hat · wird. All three have a -t sound.
- The ihr row always ends in -t / -d: seid · habt · werdet.
Working with pairs of near-lookalikes speeds up memorising these tables. The du and ihr forms in particular look very similar.
Bist du bereit?
Are you ready? (one person)
Seid ihr bereit?
Are you ready? (several people)
Which one, when — a three-second decision
In English “be”, “have” and “become/get” feel like different verbs, so this should be easy — the trouble comes from “to be” being used for so much. The split is sharp: a state, a possession or a change?
| Question | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What state? Who / how? | sein | Ich bin müde. · Sie ist Ärztin. · Das ist teuer. |
| What do you own or have? | haben | Ich habe Hunger. · Er hat ein Auto. · Wir haben Zeit. |
| What is it turning into? Where does it end up? | werden | Es wird kalt. · Sie wird Lehrerin. · Ich werde 30. |
sein is a photograph — the state right now. werden is an arrow — a move from one state to another. Es ist kalt is “it’s cold”, Es wird kalt is “it’s getting cold”.
Ich bin Student.
I’m a student. → right now
Ich werde Student.
I’m going to be a student — not yet.
No article with jobs and nationalities
An English reflex: “I’m a teacher”, so you reach for ein. With sein and werden, German uses no article for jobs, nationalities and beliefs.
Ich bin ein Lehrer.
article not needed
Ich bin Lehrer.
I’m a teacher.
Sie wird Ärztin.
She’s going to be a doctor.
Er ist Türke. · Sie ist Türkin.
He is Turkish. · She is Turkish. — again no article
The moment an adjective is added, the article comes back: Er ist ein guter Lehrer. The rule works like this: no article while the job title stands bare.
Traps
Age — sein, not haben
English says “I am 25”, and so does German: Ich bin 25 Jahre alt. is correct, but the pattern people use more often is Ich bin 25. If you also speak French or Spanish, watch out: Ich habe 25 Jahre — the “I have 25 years” pattern — does not exist in German.
Ich habe 25 Jahre.
wrong structure
Ich bin 25 (Jahre alt).
I’m 25.
Hunger, thirst, fear: these take haben
In English “I’m hungry” is built like a state. In German it is something you have. This group takes haben and the noun stays without an article.
Ich bin hungrig.
grammatically right but rare — everyday German doesn’t use it
Ich habe Hunger · Durst · Angst · Zeit · Recht.
I’m hungry · thirsty · afraid · I have time · I’m right.
Being cold and being in pain take a third route — neither sein nor haben: that pattern is here.
seid or seit
Two different words that sound the same. seid = the ihr form of sein. seit = a preposition meaning “since / for” that takes the Dativ. Germans mix these two up as well; you don’t have to.
Seid ihr bereit?
Are you ready?
Ich wohne seit zwei Jahren hier.
I have lived here for two years.
Translating werden as “become” and using it instead of sein
The dictionary gives “become” for it, and that is tempting wherever English says “be”. But werden describes a process; it can’t describe a state that already exists.
Ich werde Lehrer und arbeite in Berlin.
wrong if you mean “I am a teacher” — it says “I’m becoming a teacher”
Ich bin Lehrer und arbeite in Berlin.
I’m a teacher and I work in Berlin.
What you just learned
Ich ___ Hunger. (I’m hungry)
Show the answer
habe. Conditions like hunger and thirst count as possession and are expressed with haben.
The sentence “Ich habe 25 Jahre alt.” is correct.
Show the answer
False. Age is said with sein in German: Ich bin 25 Jahre alt.
Du ___ sehr nett.
Show the answer
bist. The du row ends in -st. bis is a preposition meaning “until”, not a verb.
Where you will meet them again
The real payoff of settling these three tables now comes later: all of them come back as auxiliary verbs.
| Structure | Auxiliary | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Perfekt — past tense | haben / sein | Ich habe gegessen. · Ich bin gefahren. |
| Futur I — future | werden | Ich werde morgen kommen. |
| Passiv — passive | werden | Das Haus wird gebaut. |
So if you don’t learn du wirst today, you will trip over the same cell again in the passive at B1. The Perfekt page explains the choice between haben and sein in detail.
For today it is enough to know the own meanings of these verbs and their basic forms. Once they act as auxiliaries, they lose their own meaning.
Ich bin in Berlin.
I’m in Berlin. (own meaning)
Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen.
I flew to Berlin. (auxiliary of the Perfekt)
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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tap the words
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tap the words
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tap the words
Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- Three basic verbs, all irregular
sein (to be) · haben (to have) · werden (to become). The skeleton of German; the Perfekt and the passive are built with them too.
ich bin · ich habe · ich werde
- sein: bin bist ist sind seid sind
It looks like no rule at all, so learn it like a song. The polite Sie is always sind.
Du bist nett. · Seid ihr müde?
- Patterns with haben where English uses “be”
Hunger haben · Durst haben · Zeit haben — English says “I’m hungry”, German says “I have hunger”.
Wir haben Hunger.
- werden = change
Es wird kalt (it’s getting cold) · Du wirst Vater (you’re becoming a father) — a move from one state to another.
Es wird kalt.
Ich habe 25 Jahre alt.
Ich bin 25 Jahre alt.
Age is said with sein.
Ich bin Hunger.
Ich habe Hunger.
Hunger is possession: haben.
Seid Sie Herr Müller?
Sind Sie Herr Müller?
Polite Sie → sind; seid is only for ihr.
Es ist kalt. (when you mean “it’s getting cold”)
Es wird kalt.
Change takes werden; ist states the current state.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Du sehr nett.
You are very nice.
ihr müde?
Are you tired?
“I’m 25.”
“I’m a teacher.”
Es kalt. (It’s getting cold)
Wir Hunger.
We’re hungry.
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
0/6 · questions answered
sein/haben/werden pocket card
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Verb conjugation · Präsens
Ich gehe, du gehst
Conjugation means the verb changes its ending to match the subject: Ich gehe, du gehst, er geht.
Irregular verbs
ich fahre, du fährst
Irregular verbs in the German present tense are verbs whose stem vowel changes in the du and er forms: ich fahre, du fährst.
Perfekt
haben or sein?
The spoken past: choosing haben or sein, and building Partizip II.