German

Präsens · Präteritum · Perfekt · Plusquamperfekt · Futur I · Futur II · Konjunktiv I · Konjunktiv II · Imperativ

Flüstern (To whisper) [fléws-tern] Präsens

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💡 Memory hook
FLÜSTERN sounds like a hushed 'fl-' sound - think of a fluttering, faint sound close to someone's ear.

⚠️ Worth knowing
FLÜSTERN forms its Perfekt with HABEN + geflüstert (weak verb, no stem change).

💬 Example sentence
Präsens: Ich flüstere ein Geheimnis. (I whisper a secret.)

• In German, separable verbs place their prefix at the end of the main clause in the Präsens and Präteritum.
• The Perfekt is formed with haben or sein plus the past participle; verbs of movement or change of state usually use sein.
• The Konjunktiv I is used mainly for reported speech. The Konjunktiv II expresses hypothesis, wishes and politeness.
• German main clauses follow a strict verb-second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb is always the second element, even when the sentence starts with something other than the subject (e.g. 'Morgen fahre ich nach Berlin' - 'Tomorrow I travel to Berlin'). English word order is much more flexible.
• In subordinate clauses introduced by words like dass, weil, wenn or ob, the conjugated verb is pushed all the way to the end of the clause instead of staying in second position: 'Ich weiß, dass er kommt' (I know that he is coming).
• Strong verbs change their stem vowel in the Präteritum and past participle (sprechen -> sprach -> gesprochen), similar to English irregular verbs (speak -> spoke -> spoken). Weak verbs just add -te/-t and keep the same vowel (like English regular '-ed' verbs). There is no reliable spelling rule for which pattern a verb follows; each strong verb has to be learned individually.
• Modal verbs (können, müssen, wollen, sollen, dürfen, mögen) send the main verb to the very end of the clause as a plain infinitive, and their own ich/er-sie-es forms drop the usual personal ending (ich kann, not 'ich kanne'; er muss, not 'er musst').
• Reflexive verbs use a reflexive pronoun (mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich) that agrees with the subject. Many German verbs are reflexive even though their English equivalent is not, e.g. sich freuen (to be glad), sich erinnern (to remember), sich beeilen (to hurry).