Stattfinden ("to take place, to happen") is the verb you need every time you talk about an event — a concert, a meeting, a wedding, a strike. It is a separable strong verb built on finden plus the prefix statt-, and it has one striking peculiarity: it is almost always used in the third person, because its subject is an event, not a person. You never do stattfinden; an event finds itself a place (the literal sense of the old phrase statt finden, "to find a stead"). It is built on finden, takes haben, and the prefix statt- is now written solidly as one word.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Partizip II (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| stattfinden | fand … statt | stattgefunden (hat) |
Read this as stattfinden – fand … statt – hat stattgefunden. The verb inherits finden's strong ablaut (finden – fand – gefunden) and adds the separable prefix statt-. In the participle, prefix and -ge- fuse: statt + ge + funden = stattgefunden, one word. The auxiliary is haben — even though no event "does" anything in the active sense, finden governs haben, and stattfinden simply keeps it.
Why it (almost) only appears in the third person
The subject of stattfinden is an event — das Konzert, die Hochzeit, die Sitzung, der Streik. Events come in the singular and the plural, but never in the first or second person: you cannot say "ich finde statt." So although the verb has a full paradigm in principle, in real German you meet essentially two forms: findet statt (singular) and finden statt (plural). The tables below give the full paradigm for completeness, but the shaded reality is third-person only.
Präsens (present)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | finde … statt |
| du | findest … statt |
| er / sie / es | findet … statt |
| wir | finden … statt |
| ihr | findet … statt |
| sie / Sie | finden … statt |
Das Konzert findet morgen Abend in der Stadthalle statt.
The concert takes place tomorrow evening in the town hall. (findet in position 2, statt at the end)
Wegen des Sturms finden heute keine Flüge statt.
Because of the storm, no flights are taking place today. (plural: finden … statt)
In subordinate clauses the prefix rejoins the verb at the clause end:
Weißt du, ob die Sitzung heute noch stattfindet?
Do you know whether the meeting is still happening today? (rejoined: stattfindet, at the clause end)
Präteritum (simple past)
Strong: the stem becomes fand-, with no ending in the third-person singular; the prefix still detaches.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | fand … statt |
| du | fandest … statt |
| er / sie / es | fand … statt |
| wir | fanden … statt |
| ihr | fandet … statt |
| sie / Sie | fanden … statt |
Die erste Aufführung fand bereits 1998 statt.
The first performance took place back in 1998. (narrative Präteritum)
Perfekt (present perfect)
The everyday spoken past. Auxiliary haben + stattgefunden.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe stattgefunden |
| du | hast stattgefunden |
| er / sie / es | hat stattgefunden |
| wir | haben stattgefunden |
| ihr | habt stattgefunden |
| sie / Sie | haben stattgefunden |
Die Konferenz hat letzte Woche in Wien stattgefunden.
The conference took place last week in Vienna. (hat stattgefunden, never ist stattgefunden)
Die Proteste haben trotz des Verbots stattgefunden.
The protests took place despite the ban. (plural)
Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)
Past auxiliary hatte + stattgefunden.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| er / sie / es | hatte stattgefunden |
| sie (plural) | hatten stattgefunden |
Als wir ankamen, hatte die Trauung schon stattgefunden.
By the time we arrived, the wedding ceremony had already taken place.
Futur I (future)
werden + the infinitive stattfinden (one word at the clause end).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| er / sie / es | wird … stattfinden |
| sie (plural) | werden … stattfinden |
Die Preisverleihung wird voraussichtlich im Mai stattfinden.
The award ceremony is expected to take place in May. (the infinitive stays joined)
Konjunktiv (subjunctive)
In reported speech and journalism you meet the Konjunktiv I finde … statt and the Konjunktiv II fände … statt (strong fand + umlaut). The würde-form (würde stattfinden) is the casual alternative.
| Form | Konjunktiv I | Konjunktiv II |
|---|---|---|
| er / sie / es | finde … statt | fände … statt / würde … stattfinden |
| sie (plural) | finden … statt | fänden … statt / würden … stattfinden |
Der Veranstalter teilte mit, das Festival finde wie geplant statt.
The organizer announced that the festival would take place as planned. (Konjunktiv I, reported speech)
Bei besserem Wetter fände das Turnier draußen statt.
In better weather the tournament would take place outdoors. (Konjunktiv II)
Usage: no imperative, no personal subject
Stattfinden has no meaningful imperative — you cannot command an event to occur — and no personal subject. The thing that takes place is always grammatically inanimate: an Ereignis (event), a Veranstaltung (function), a Treffen (meeting). To say where or when it happens, simply add place and time adverbials in the usual order; the verb itself takes no preposition and no object.
Die Hochzeit findet am Samstag im Schloss statt.
The wedding takes place on Saturday at the castle. (time before place in the Mittelfeld)
Falls es regnet, findet das Fest in der Halle statt.
If it rains, the party will be held in the hall. (German uses stattfinden where English often uses 'be held')
English contrast
English splits this single German verb across several phrases — "take place," "be held," "happen," "go ahead," "occur." German handles all of them with stattfinden when the subject is a scheduled event. Crucially, English lets a person be the implicit subject ("we're holding the meeting on Tuesday"), but German must make the event the subject of stattfinden (die Sitzung findet am Dienstag statt). If you want a person as agent, you switch verbs — abhalten, veranstalten, organisieren ("hold, stage, organize") — which do take haben and an object.
Wir halten die Sitzung am Dienstag ab — sie findet im großen Saal statt.
We're holding the meeting on Tuesday — it takes place in the large hall. (abhalten with a personal subject, stattfinden with the event)
Common Mistakes
❌ Das Konzert ist gestern stattgefunden.
Incorrect auxiliary — stattfinden is built on finden and takes haben, not sein.
✅ Das Konzert hat gestern stattgefunden.
The concert took place yesterday.
❌ Wir finden morgen ein Treffen statt.
Incorrect — the event is the subject; a person cannot 'stattfinden'. Use the event as subject or switch to abhalten/veranstalten.
✅ Morgen findet ein Treffen statt.
A meeting takes place tomorrow.
❌ Das Fest stattfindet im Garten.
Incorrect — in a main clause the prefix statt- must detach and go to the end.
✅ Das Fest findet im Garten statt.
The party takes place in the garden.
❌ Die Messe hat statt einen Platz gefunden.
Incorrect — stattfinden is one fixed word; statt- is a prefix, not the preposition 'instead of', and there is no article/object.
✅ Die Messe hat stattgefunden.
The trade fair took place.
❌ Die Sitzung hat noch nicht stattgefinden.
Incorrect participle — it is stattgefunden (strong stem -fund-), not stattgefinden.
✅ Die Sitzung hat noch nicht stattgefunden.
The meeting hasn't taken place yet.
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: stattfinden – fand … statt – hat stattgefunden (separable, strong; Perfekt with haben).
- It is almost exclusively third person: the subject is an event (das Konzert findet statt, die Proteste finden statt).
- The prefix statt- is the fossilized noun Statt ("place") — written as one word, with no article and no object.
- Separable: statt- detaches in main clauses, rejoins in subordinate clauses; participle is one word: stattgefunden.
- English uses many verbs ("take place, be held, happen, occur"); German covers them all with stattfinden when the subject is the event itself.
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