Nuts & Bolts of German: Present tense: The extra letter

arbeiten: stem = arbeit + infinitive ending = en
Er arbeitet.
Wo arbeitest du?

finden: stem = find + infinitive ending = en
Sie findet Geld?
Findest du oft Geld?

regnen: stem = regn + infinitive ending = en
Es regnet.

 

Study the three photos above and read their captions. When you want to form the present tense of a verb whose stem ends in -d or -t (and in many cases also in -n), it will be very difficult to pronounce the verb-form once you have added a -t or an -st. Therefore, a letter is inserted before the ending to facilitate pronunciation. Which letter is inserted?

 

Write the letter into the gap provided and fill in the gaps under the two photos on the right-hand side. Then press [Check] to see if you got it right. Use the [Hint] button to get a free letter if you need help.

The letter "" is inserted before the verb endings -t and -st to facilitate pronunciation.

And don't worry. You will probably insert the extra letter automatically once you try to pronounce the verb-form.

reiten: stem = reit + infinitive ending = en
Sie
.
du auch manchmal?

öffnen: stem = öffn + infinitive ending = en
Er
die Tür.
Warum
du die Tür nicht?

      Umlaute & Eszett:        

 

Wörterbuch (LEO) Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS) Wörterbuch (Linguee) Wörterbuch (dict.cc Wörterbuch (PONS) Terminologie A - Z

 

Tip: If you don't belong to the lucky few who possess a photographic memory, write down what you learnt while doing this exercise.

     

photos:
Sattlermeister bei der Arbeit in seiner Werkstatt: ©
UrheberFelix Maschek, Hamburg; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Sattler_bei_der_Arbeit.JPG (scaled down)
(CCO Creative Commons): https://pixabay.com/en/woman-horse-cavaliere-horse-mare-2645817/
(CCO Creative Commons): https://pixabay.com/en/key-door-opening-door-lock-2732312/

other photos: © Dagmar Fischer