How to Conjugate "Stehen" (to Stand) in German

The German verb stehen means "to stand." It is a strong (irregular) verb, so it doesn't follow the common rules that apply to German verb conjugations. This means that you will have to memorize each form of the verb in the various tenses.

The good news is that the past tense of stehen is stand, which gives you have a great start on this lesson. We'll also explore the present and future tenses, dive deeper into the past, and study the imperative and subjunctives.

Principal Parts: stehen -  stand - gestanden

Past Participle: gestanden

Imperative (Commands): (du) Steh! - (ihr) Steht! - Stehen Sie!

Stehen in the Present Tense (Präsens)

The best place to begin is with the present tense (präsens) forms of stehen. These conjugations allow you to say things like "I am standing" and "we are standing" and you'll use these frequently.

Many times, it helps your memorization of verb conjugations if you practice them within a sentence. It doesn't have to be complex, just simple, short statements such as these:

• Steh gerade! - Stand up straight!
• Wo steht das Haus? - Where is (stands) the house?

Stehen in the Simple Past Tense (Imperfekt)

There are many past tense forms of German verbs, but the most common is the simple past tense (imperfekt). This is the primary way that you will say "stood" so it's good to concentrate on these words and commit them to memory.

Stehen in the Compound Past Tense (Perfekt)

Another past tense form of stehen is the compound past tense, otherwise known as the present perfect (perfekt). This has a special use for those times when you say that someone "stood" but you're not clear as to when that action took place. You might also use it if someone "stood" and is still "standing" right now.

Stehen in the Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)

When the action of "standing" happened before some other action in the past, you will use the past perfect tense (plusquamperfekt). For example, "I stood outside waiting for the doors to open."

Stehen in the Future Tense (Futur)

In English, we use the future tense all the time, but it's used with less frequency in German. Many times, people prefer to use the present tense with an adverb instead. This is similar to the present progressive in English: Er steht morgen an. means "He's going to stand tomorrow."

Stehen in the Future Perfect (Futur II)

Stehen as Used in Commands (Imperativ)

There are three command (imperative) forms, one for each "you" word. In addition, the "let's" form is used with wir.

Stehen in the Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I)

The subjunctive is a mood and not a tense. The Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I) is based on the infinitive form of the verb. It is most often used to express indirect quotation (indirekte Rede). Rare in conversational use, the Subjunctive I is often seen in newspapers, usually in the third person. For example, er stehe means "he is said to stand."

*Because the Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I) of stehen in the first person (ich) and the plural are identical to the indicative (normal) form, the Subjunctive II is sometimes substituted.

Stehen in the Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)

The Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) expresses wishful thinking, contrary-to-reality situations, and is used to express politeness. The Subjunctive II is based on the simple past tense (stand), adding an umlaut and "e" to create stände.

Since the subjunctive is a mood and not a tense, it can be used in various tenses. Below are examples that illustrate how stehen forms the subjunctive in past or future time. In such cases, the subjunctive forms of haben (to have) or werden (to become) are combined with stehen.