Haben conjugation: from “I have” to the Perfekt.

haben: present, past and Perfekt

Lowercase sie can mean “she” or “they”; capitalized Sie is formal “you” and takes the plural verb form. The English translation of a German past tense depends on context.

Recognize the Konjunktiv II

These forms express hypothetical situations or wishes. They are not interchangeable with the ordinary past tense.

Haben as the main verb

With haben as the main verb, the thing someone has normally appears in the accusative. The masculine indefinite article changes from ein to einen; feminine eine and neuter ein keep their form.

German also uses haben in expressions such as Hunger haben and Zeit haben. Learn the expression as a useful unit, not as an isolated English word substitution.

• Ich habe einen Termin.

  I have an appointment.

• Meine Freundin hat ein Fahrrad.

  My friend has a bicycle.

• Habt ihr noch Zeit?

  Do you still have time?

• Nach dem Spaziergang haben wir Hunger.

  After the walk, we are hungry.

Hatte or habe gehabt?

Both can describe having something in the past. The simple form hatte is useful and common in everyday statements; habe gehabt is a complete Perfekt form, not an accidental repetition.

Only the auxiliary changes for person in the Perfekt. The participle gehabt stays the same.

• Früher hatte ich ein kleines Auto.

  I used to have a small car.

• Wir haben heute viel Glück gehabt.

  We have had a lot of luck today.

• Hattest du gestern frei?

  Did you have yesterday off?

Haben as an auxiliary

In Ich habe gekocht, habe carries the person and tense while gekocht names the action. Many verbs use haben in the Perfekt; some use sein. Check the combination with each new verb instead of choosing from the English translation.

In an ordinary main clause, the finite auxiliary comes early and the participle closes the clause. In a yes/no question, the auxiliary comes first.

• Ich habe heute Suppe gekocht.

  I cooked soup today.

• Hast du die Nachricht gelesen?

  Have you read the message?

• Wir sind nach Hause gegangen.

  We went home.

  Gehen uses sein here, so this is sind gegangen, not haben gegangen.

English “have” does not always mean haben

For an obligation expressed by English “have to,” German commonly uses müssen. Do not translate “I have to work” as Ich habe arbeiten.

Hätte is Konjunktiv II: it can make a request polite or describe a hypothetical situation. The umlaut changes the meaning, so hatte and hätte are not spelling variants.

• Ich muss morgen arbeiten.

  I have to work tomorrow.

• Ich hätte gern ein Glas Wasser.

  I would like a glass of water.

• Mit mehr Zeit hätten wir weniger Stress.

  With more time, we would have less stress.