Wir ändern den Plan.

we

Breakdown of Wir ändern den Plan.

• der Plan: the plan
• ändern: to change

Questions & Answers about Wir ändern den Plan.

Why is Plan capitalized?

In German all nouns are written with an initial capital letter. Since Plan is a noun, it must be capitalized.

Why is it den Plan and not der Plan?

Plan is masculine (der Plan in nominative). Here it’s the direct object of ändern, so you must use the accusative case. The accusative singular masculine article is den, not der.

How is the verb ändern conjugated in the present tense for wir?

The present‐tense endings follow a regular pattern. For most verbs (including ändern):
• ich ändere
• du änderst
• er/sie/es ändert
• wir ändern
• ihr ändert
• sie/Sie ändern
Notice that wir ändern looks just like the infinitive—this is normal: the 1st‐ and 3rd‐person plural forms coincide with the infinitive.

Why does ändern have an umlaut on Ä?

The umlaut in ändern is part of the verb stem. Historically it comes from a vowel mutation process in German. In practice you simply learn that this verb has ä in its stem forms.

How do you pronounce ändern?

ändern is pronounced “EHN-dern.”
• Ä sounds like the “e” in English end.
• The “d” is softened, almost like a very soft “t.”
• The final -en is pronounced as a quick, reduced syllable (sound “uhn”).

Why doesn’t German use a progressive form like “are changing”?

German does not have a continuous/progressive tense. Instead, the simple present covers both “I change” and “I am changing.” If you want to emphasize “right now,” you can insert gerade:
Wir ändern gerade den Plan.
(literally “We change the plan right now.”)

How would you turn Wir ändern den Plan. into the passive voice?

In passive voice the object becomes the subject and the verb is built with werden + past participle:
Der Plan wird (von uns) geändert.
(literally “The plan is being changed (by us).”)

Can you place den Plan before wir? For example, Den Plan ändern wir.

Yes. German allows fronting for emphasis or style. Den Plan ändern wir. still means “We’re changing the plan,” but with more focus on den Plan.

What’s the difference between ändern, verändern, and wechseln?

• ändern: to modify or adjust something (e.g. change details of a plan).
• verändern: to transform or alter more fundamentally (e.g. change someone’s character).
• wechseln: to switch or replace one thing with another (e.g. change trains, change clothes).

How would you say “We have changed the plan” in German?

You use the present perfect (Perfekt) for a past action with a result now:
Wir haben den Plan geändert.