Essen ("to eat") is a high-frequency strong verb that packs three of the trickiest features of German conjugation into one tiny word: a present-tense vowel change (e → i), an unusual stem ending in -ss, and a famously irregular past participle, gegessen, with a doubled g that surprises every learner. Master essen and you will recognise the machinery behind dozens of other strong verbs. A note on its near-twin: do not confuse essen (humans eating) with fressen, the verb used for animals eating — using fressen about a person is rude or jokingly insulting.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Partizip II (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| essen | aß | gegessen (hat) |
Read this as essen – aß – hat gegessen. The past aß shows the strong-verb ablaut (the stem vowel itself changes to mark tense), and it carries an ß because the long a is followed by the historic s-sound. The participle gegessen is the oddity: you would expect gegessen to be ge-essen, but German inserts an extra g, giving the doubled spelling gegessen. This is unique to essen — no other verb does it — so simply memorise it. The auxiliary is haben.
Präsens (present)
The vowel changes from e to i in the du and er/sie/es forms — a hallmark of one large class of strong verbs. Because the stem already ends in -ss, the du-ending -st loses its s: du isst, not du issst. The result is that du isst and er isst look identical.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | esse |
| du | isst |
| er / sie / es | isst |
| wir | essen |
| ihr | esst |
| sie / Sie | essen |
See the e→i vowel change. The vowel change happens only in the singular du and er/sie/es; the plural and ich keep the e.
Isst du eigentlich Fleisch oder bist du Vegetarier?
Do you actually eat meat, or are you vegetarian? (informal)
Mein Sohn isst momentan nur Nudeln mit Butter.
My son currently eats only pasta with butter. (everyday)
Präteritum (simple past)
The strong past stem is aß-. The ich and er/sie/es forms take no ending — the bare stem stands alone, which is typical of strong verbs.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | aß |
| du | aßest |
| er / sie / es | aß |
| wir | aßen |
| ihr | aßt |
| sie / Sie | aßen |
Früher aß man hier vor allem Kartoffeln und Kohl.
In the old days people here mainly ate potatoes and cabbage. (literary/narrative register)
In speech you will normally say ich habe gegessen; aß belongs to written narration.
Perfekt (present perfect)
Everyday past: present of haben + the participle gegessen.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gegessen |
| du | hast gegessen |
| er / sie / es | hat gegessen |
| wir | haben gegessen |
| ihr | habt gegessen |
| sie / Sie | haben gegessen |
Hast du schon gegessen, oder soll ich noch etwas kochen?
Have you eaten yet, or should I cook something? (informal)
The participle ends in -en (not -t), which is the strong-verb signature. See the strong participle.
Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)
Past auxiliary (hatte) + gegessen.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gegessen |
| du | hattest gegessen |
| er / sie / es | hatte gegessen |
| wir | hatten gegessen |
| ihr | hattet gegessen |
| sie / Sie | hatten gegessen |
Als die Gäste kamen, hatten wir schon gegessen.
By the time the guests arrived, we had already eaten.
Futur I and Futur II
Werden + infinitive (Futur I) or werden + Partizip II + haben (Futur II).
| Person | Futur I | Futur II |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde essen | werde gegessen haben |
| du | wirst essen | wirst gegessen haben |
| er / sie / es | wird essen | wird gegessen haben |
| wir | werden essen | werden gegessen haben |
| ihr | werdet essen | werdet gegessen haben |
| sie / Sie | werden essen | werden gegessen haben |
Bis wir ankommen, werden die Kinder schon gegessen haben.
By the time we arrive, the kids will already have eaten.
Imperativ (commands)
Crucially, the vowel change carries into the du-imperative: it is Iss!, not Esse!. Strong verbs with an e→i change keep that i in the command form and drop the -e ending. See du-form imperative irregularities.
| Addressee | Form |
|---|---|
| du | Iss! |
| ihr | Esst! |
| Sie | Essen Sie! |
Iss endlich dein Gemüse auf!
Finish eating your vegetables already! (informal du-command, vowel change retained)
Konjunktiv II (would / hypothetical)
Strong verbs build a synthetic Konjunktiv II by umlauting the past stem: aß → äße. This form is genuinely used and sounds natural for essen.
| Person | Synthetic | würde-form |
|---|---|---|
| ich | äße | würde essen |
| du | äßest | würdest essen |
| er / sie / es | äße | würde essen |
| wir | äßen | würden essen |
| ihr | äßet | würdet essen |
| sie / Sie | äßen | würden essen |
Ich äße jetzt sofort eine ganze Pizza.
I could eat a whole pizza right now. (synthetic Konjunktiv II, natural here)
Usage and government
Essen is transitive and takes the accusative: einen Apfel essen, Suppe essen. See accusative functions. It is also used intransitively to mean "to have a meal" (Wir essen um sieben = we eat at seven). Remember the social distinction: humans essen, animals fressen.
Was möchtest du heute Abend essen?
What would you like to eat this evening? (informal)
Common idioms and fixed expressions
| Expression | English |
|---|---|
| essen gehen | to go out to eat |
| auswärts essen | to eat out / dine out |
| jemandem aus der Hand essen | to eat out of someone's hand (be tame/compliant) |
| für zwei essen | to eat for two (huge appetite) |
| etwas zu essen | something to eat |
Hast du Lust, heute Abend essen zu gehen?
Do you feel like going out to eat tonight? (informal)
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich habe einen Apfel geessen.
Incorrect participle — essen has the irregular doubled-g form gegessen.
✅ Ich habe einen Apfel gegessen.
I ate an apple.
❌ Du esst zu schnell.
Missing vowel change — the du-form changes e to i: du isst.
✅ Du isst zu schnell.
You eat too fast.
❌ Esse dein Brot!
Wrong imperative — the e→i change carries into the command: Iss!
✅ Iss dein Brot!
Eat your bread!
❌ Magst du gerne Sushi essen fressen?
Wrong verb for a person — fressen is for animals; using it about people is rude or jokey.
✅ Magst du gerne Sushi essen?
Do you like eating sushi?
❌ Ich bin schon gegessen.
Wrong auxiliary — essen takes haben, not sein.
✅ Ich habe schon gegessen.
I've already eaten.
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: essen – aß – hat gegessen (note the doubled g in the participle).
- Present vowel change e → i: du isst, er isst (the -ss stem swallows the -st's s).
- The vowel change survives in the imperative: Iss!, not Esse!.
- Government is accusative; Perfekt with haben.
- Humans essen; animals fressen — never swap them.
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