How to Conjugate the German Verb "Laufen" (to Run, Walk)

Meaning "to run" or "to walk," the German verb laufen is an important one for German students to study. As with all verbs, we must learn how to conjugate it into the present, past, and future tenses in order to form complete sentences.

While laufen is one of the more challenging verb conjugations, studying this lesson will help you learn its many forms. Practicing this German vocabulary in context will also make memorizing the words a little easier.

An Introduction to Laufen

Verb conjugations are necessary because we need to transform the infinitive version of the verb to fit with the tense and subject pronoun of our sentence. This allows us to say things like ich lief for "I walked" or er läuft for "he is running." 

A word like laufen is a bit more difficult than some other common German verbs because it does not follow a common pattern when it comes to the endings we need to apply. Laufen is both a stem-changing and strong (irregular) verb, so the basic rules don't apply. That means you will need to commit all of these forms of the verb to memory.

Principal Parts: laufen (läuft) - lief - ist gelaufen

Imperative (Commands): (du) Lauf(e)! | (ihr) Lauft! | Laufen Sie!

Laufen in the Present Tense (Präsens)

The present tense (präsens) of laufen is the most common and you will use it often to say that the action of "running" is happening right now. Since it's a stem-changing verb, you will notice that some forms use "ä" rather than an "a." While the pronunciation may not change, the spelling certainly does, so remain aware of this.

By studying the chart, you can begin to complete sentences using a form of laufen:

• Wie weit laufen Sie? - How far are you running/walking?
• Er läuft langsam. - He's walking slowly. 

Laufen in the Simple Past Tense (Imperfekt)

The past tense (vergangenheit) of laufen comes in many forms and they're used in various contexts. The simplest of these is the simple past tense (imperfekt) and is used in most instances when you want to say "walked" or "ran."

Laufen in the Compound Past Tense (Perfekt)

The compound past tense, or present perfect (perfekt), is used a little less often. This verb form indicates that the action did happen, but you're not being clear exactly when someone "walked." At times, it can also imply that someone "walked" and is still "walking."

Laufen in the Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)

In the past perfect tense (plusquamperfekt), the action has occurred before another action. You might use it in a sentence such as, "I walked home after practicing with the team."

Laufen in the Future Tense (Futur)

In German, the future tense is used much less often than it is in English. It's more common to use the present tense with an adverb instead. This is similar to the present progressive in English. For example, "Er läuft morgen an." means "He's going to run tomorrow. "

However, it is a good idea to review the future tenses of laufen. This will only increase your German vocabulary and, at the very least, you'll be able to recognize these forms if you encounter them.

Laufen in the Future Perfect (Futur II)