Vowel Changes: a to ä
You have already seen strong verbs that change their stem vowel from e to ie or i. Another very common pattern for strong verbs is a change from a to an a-umlaut (ä).
Just like before, this vowel shift only happens in the du (you, singular informal) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. All other forms remain regular.
Here is the verb fahren (to drive, to travel, or to ride):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| ich | fahre |
| du | fährst |
| er / sie / es | fährt |
| wir | fahren |
| ihr | fahrt |
| sie / Sie | fahren |
| She is driving into the city. | Sie fährt in die Stadt. |
| Do you often ride a bicycle? | Fährst du oft Fahrrad? |
These vowel-changing verbs are incredibly useful for talking about transportation and commuting.
| The train is going fast. | Der Zug fährt schnell. |
| The car is driving slowly, but the subway is fast. | Das Auto fährt langsam, aber die U-Bahn ist schnell. |
Other Verbs with a to ä
Two other essential verbs that follow this exact pattern are tragen (to carry, to wear) and halten (to stop).
For tragen, the vowel changes to form du trägst and er/sie/es trägt.
| Are you carrying the backpack? | Trägst du den Rucksack? |
| He is carrying the suitcase. | Er trägt den Koffer. |
For halten, the verb stem already ends in a -t. Because of this, the er/sie/es ending merges with the stem, making the form simply hält (rather than adding an extra t).
| The bus stops here. | Der Bus hält hier. |
| Where does the train stop? | Wo hält der Zug? |
