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### 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 |

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These vowel-changing verbs are incredibly useful for talking about transportation and commuting.

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### 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**.

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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*). 

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Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
the train	der Zug
to drive, to travel	fahren
The train is going fast.	Der Zug fährt schnell.
to stop	halten
Where does the train stop?	Wo hält der Zug?
the stop	die Haltestelle
far / wide, vast	weit
The stop is not far.	Die Haltestelle ist nicht weit.
The bus stops here.	Der Bus hält hier.
Are you looking for the stop?	Suchen Sie die Haltestelle?
the bicycle	das Fahrrad
Do you often ride a bicycle?	Fährst du oft Fahrrad?
the city	die Stadt
She is driving into the city.	Sie fährt in die Stadt.
slow, slowly	langsam
the subway	die U-Bahn
The car is driving slowly, but the subway is fast.	Das Auto fährt langsam, aber die U-Bahn ist schnell.
We are taking the subway.	Wir nehmen die U-Bahn.
Do you know the city?	Kennst du die Stadt?
The city is big and beautiful.	Die Stadt ist groß und schön.
to carry, to wear	tragen
He is carrying the suitcase.	Er trägt den Koffer.
Are you carrying the backpack?	Trägst du den Rucksack?
Is the station far?	Ist der Bahnhof weit?
The boy is reading slowly.	Der Junge liest langsam.
He is carrying the bicycle.	Er trägt das Fahrrad.
to ride a bike, to cycle	Rad fahren
The child is riding a bike.	Das Kind fährt Rad.
We like cycling.	Wir fahren gern Rad.
to let, to leave (something)	lassen
I am leaving the book here.	Ich lasse das Buch hier.
He is leaving the car here.	Er lässt das Auto hier.
the ticket (for travel)	die Fahrkarte
I need a ticket.	Ich brauche eine Fahrkarte.
The ticket is expensive.	Die Fahrkarte ist teuer.
the taxi	das Taxi
We are taking a taxi.	Wir nehmen ein Taxi.
The taxi is expensive.	Das Taxi ist teuer.
the railway (the rail service)	die Bahn
The train is coming.	Die Bahn kommt.
The train stops here.	Die Bahn hält hier.

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