If you want to fast track learning and speaking English and German, here’s the secret: learn basic English and German verb conjugation (and might I say the same for many other languages) as early as Day 1 or Day 2 and produce first sentences already from the language.
Plus, you could already accomplish Day 1 and 2 of this 30-Day Language Journal Challenge. Sounds tempting?
In this post, you will learn how to build your first sentences with the knowledge of just these 3 language elements:
- Pronouns
- English and German Verb Conjugation (in Present Tense)
- 10 must-know verbs to start speaking immediately
The best part? This knowledge is largely transferable.
English and German are both Germanic languages. That means they share structural DNA.
And once you understand how sentence-building works here, you’ll notice similarities in Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic.
Even beyond Germanic languages, the core logic of pronoun + conjugated verb + complement exists in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, etc.
For us, Vietnamese, Chinese, and alike languages, verb conjugation is not a thing. Nevertheless, learning the most common must-know verbs mentioned in this post would still be universally helpful.
So yes! What you learn here is powerful beyond just two languages. Now let us master English and German verb conjugation for different pronouns and create first sentences right away.
I. Pronouns (The Foundation of Every Sentence)
Before verbs, before grammar rules — you need pronouns.
Pronouns replace names. They allow you to speak naturally.
Here are all personal subject pronouns in English and German:
| English | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| I | ich |
| you (singular) | du |
| he | er |
| she | sie |
| it | es |
| we | wir |
| you (plural) | ihr |
| they | sie |
| you (formal) | Sie |
Important observations:
- English has one “you.”
- German distinguishes:
- du (informal singular)
- ihr (informal plural)
- Sie (formal singular & plural) 👉 don’t mistake it for the small “sie” as “she” or “they”
NOTE: For German learners, when in doubt, say Sie to your new acquaintance, to whom you want to show respect for their seniority and/or authority, especially in business setting.
Almost every sentence you build will start with one of these pronouns. And this is the core pattern you must remember:
Pronoun + Conjugated Verb (by Tenses) + Information
That’s how you build your first sentence in English and German.
II. “To Be” – The Most Essential Verb
If there is one verb you must master immediately, it is “to be.”
It allows you to:
- Introduce yourself
- State your age
- Describe identity
- Express nationality
- Describe conditions
✨A few of which we have already accomplished from the previous post Essential Vocabulary You Need to Introduce Yourself in Any Language.
Do you still remember how to say your name and where you are from using “am” and “bin”?
Let’s look at full conjugations.
TO BE – English (Present Simple)
| Pronoun | Verb Form |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| you | are |
| he | is |
| she | is |
| it | is |
| we | are |
| you | are |
| they | are |
As an irregular verb, “TO BE” in English has three forms in present simple:
- am
- is
- are
SEIN – German (Present Tense)
| Pronoun | Verb Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin |
| du | bist |
| er | ist |
| sie | ist |
| es | ist |
| wir | sind |
| ihr | seid |
| sie | sind |
| Sie | sind |
Just like English, German “sein” is irregular.
You cannot apply a standard ending rule here. So the verb transformation must be memorized.
This verb alone allows you to say:
- I am Anna. / Ich bin Anna.
- She is American. / Sie ist Amerikanerin.
- We are 28 years old. / Wir sind 28 Jahre alt.
You are already building complete sentences.
III. 10 Must-Know Verbs to Start Speaking Immediately
Now we expand your toolbox.
Here are 10 high-frequency verbs that allow you to build real conversations.
| English | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| to be called | heißen (*) |
| to come from | kommen (aus) |
| to live (in) | wohnen (in) |
| to speak | sprechen |
| to have | haben |
| to do | tun / machen |
| to go | gehen |
| to need | brauchen |
| to know | wissen / kennen |
| to ask | fragen |
These verbs allow you to express:
- Name: (*) with heißen as an alternative for sein to say “Ich bin…” in German
- Origin: with “come from” or “kommen aus”
- Residence: with “live in” or “wohnen in”
- Language ability: with “speak” or “sprechen”
- Possession: with “have” or “haben”
- Action: with “do” or “tun”/”machen”
- Movement: with “go” or “gehen”
- Necessity: with “need” or “brauchen”
- Knowledge: with “know” or “wissen”, “kennen”
- Curiosity or seeking help for a problem: with “ask” or “fragen”
With these alone, you can build dozens of sentences.
For a full list of 100 Must-Know Verbs in English and German (with Vietnamese and any other language translation), check out my FREE vocabulary list:
IV. Verb Deep Dive: TO COME FROM
Knowing the verbs in English and German is actually not yet enough to use it skillfully. We must learn the English and German verb conjugation as well.
Good news is: all the 10 must-know verbs above are regular verbs. It means there is a conjugation pattern that we can memorize and simply apply in every similar case.
Now let’s take one verb and fully break it down in the Present Simple tense.
Infinitive:
- English: to come (from)
- German: kommen (aus)
TO COME – English (Present Simple)
| Pronoun | Verb |
|---|---|
| I | come |
| you | come |
| he | comes |
| she | comes |
| it | comes |
| we | come |
| you | come |
| they | come |
Ending rule in English:
- Add -s for he / she / it
- All other forms stay the same
That’s the Present Simple rule for most verbs.
Example:
- I come from Canada.
- He comes from Germany.
KOMMEN – German (Present Tense)
| Pronoun | Verb |
|---|---|
| ich | komme |
| du | kommst |
| er | kommt |
| sie | kommt |
| es | kommt |
| wir | kommen |
| ihr | kommt |
| sie | kommen |
| Sie | kommen |
Ending pattern (regular German verbs):
- ich → -e
- du → -st
- er/sie/es → -t
- wir → -en
- ihr → -t
- sie/Sie → -en
Example:
- Ich komme aus Kanada.
- Er kommt aus Deutschland.
Once you understand this pattern, you can apply it to many of the must-know verbs listed above, like “wohnen” or “fragen”.
A Note on Present Simple
If you want a deeper explanation of English Present Simple rules and/or German Präsens conjugation, you can consult:
- British Council (LearnEnglish) for English grammar
- Deutsche Welle (DW Deutsch Lernen) for German grammar
Both are credible, educational, and widely respected resources.
They explain:
- Third person -s in English
- Verb stem + endings in German
- Question formation
- Negation
But for speaking from Day 1 or writing the Language Journal Challenge Prompts Day 1 and Day 2, the patterns you learned here is enough.
Why This Knowledge Is Transferable
Once you understand:
Pronoun + Conjugated Verb
You can apply it to many other languages, like Dutch:
- ik kom
- jij komt
(Writing this really reminds me of my times in the Netherlands back in 2019!)
Even in Romance languages like Spanish:
- yo hablo
- tú hablas
The idea is the same.
Language structure is not random.
It’s patterned.
And when you see patterns, you gain power.
That’s how you truly build your first sentence in English and German — and beyond.
Mini Challenge: Write 5 Sentences
Using:
- 3 pronouns
- 3-5 of the 10 verbs, such as “to come from”, “to go”, and “to want” and conjugate them per pronoun
- Pieces of personal information with the vocabulary that can be obtained from my 1000 Vocabulary List.
English
- I am Suani.
- I am Vietnamese.
- I come from Vietnam.
- I speak English.
- My mother speaks only Vietnamese.
German
- Ich bin Suani.
- Ich bin Vietnamesisch.
- I komme aus Vietnam.
- Ich spreche Englisch.
- Meine Mutter spricht nur Vietnamesisch.
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve mastered the Verb Conjugation in Present Tense for all Pronouns in English and German (and similar target languages), it’s time to expand your confidence and build a full-fleged self-introduction.
In the next post, you’ll learn:
👉 5 Essential Phrases You Need to Introduce Yourself (Like A Pro)
See you there,
Suani
