What is the difference between strong and weak verbs

Some common mixed verbs are:. Also common are wenden, wandte, gewandt [to turn, turn around, turn to [sich wenden an]] and senden, sandte, gesandt [to send, to transmit]. These verbs also have regular weak forms wendete, gewendet; sendete, gesendet , but their irregular forms are more common.

Here is a great list for studying the strong verbs. So it must be a regular weak verb — so the form I need is…. If the verb has an English cognate, then the German verb is usually strong usually with similar vowel changes if the English verb is strong, and weak if the English verb is weak. Any of the verbs you learned in your first year of German that have a stem-change in the present tense are strong verbs, e.

What are strong verbs? There is no general rule or formula to create the past tense for these verbs. Using most of these verbs in the past tense requires great familiarity with the language. This is why many new English speakers whether children or adults make mistakes when conjugating strong verbs into the past tense. Some native English speakers will even make mistakes when they are speaking quickly or without thinking.

Furthermore, there is a change in stem vowel and stem vowel sound. What are weak verbs? The verbs above are also known as irregular verbs , but not all irregular verbs are strong. If a verb is weak, that doesn't mean you should avoid using it in your writing. Most of the verbs in the English language are considered weak, so it would be pretty hard to avoid them!

Weak verbs also known as regular verbs simply add -t or -ed to their endings when conjugating to past tense or past participle. Examples of weak verbs include:. When a teacher advises you to use "strong verbs," they probably want you to use strong language, such as using more action verbs in your writing or avoiding passive voice. However, those definitions of "strong" have nothing to do with the proper grammatical definition.

There is no word choice preference for grammatically strong or weak verbs. There are some verbs that change both their stem vowel sound and their endings when conjugating to the past tense. For example, "catch" becomes "caught" in the past tense. Doesn't that mean that these verbs are strong verbs? The answer is no. Verbs that change both vowel sounds and endings are simply irregular weak verbs.