To build sentences in German, you need verbs. And to start, two verbs matter more than any others: haben (to have) and sein (to be). They are the backbone of countless everyday expressions.

These verbs are essential, but they're also irregular. This means they don't follow the standard rules for conjugation, so you'll need to memorize their forms. Once you do, you'll unlock the ability to describe who you are, what you have, and how things are.

Just like in English, haben is used to talk about possession. It's how you say you have a pet, a question, or an idea. Here is its present-tense conjugation.

In a simple statement, the conjugated verb comes second. For example, to say "I have a brother," you place habe right after the subject, ich.

• Ich habe einen Bruder. (I have a brother.)
• Wir haben eine Frage. (We have a question.)

Now let's use these forms to build different types of sentences.

Negative Sentences To say you don't have something, you'll use kein. Think of kein as meaning "not a" or "no." It goes before the noun you're negating.

• Du hast keinen Hund. (You don't have a dog.)
• Sie hat keine Zeit. (She has no time.)

Questions To ask a simple yes/no question, just flip the subject and the verb. The verb goes first.

• Hast du einen Hund? (Do you have a dog?)

For more complex questions that start with words like Wer? (Who?) or Was? (What?), the structure is: Question Word + Verb + Subject.

• Was habt ihr? (What do you all have?)
• Wer hat eine Frage? (Who has a question?)

The verb sein is used to describe states of being, characteristics, and identity. Are you tired? Is the weather nice? Where are you from? For all of these, you need sein. It is the most common verb in German, and also the most irregular.

Just like with haben, the conjugated form of sein takes the second position in a basic statement.

• Ich bin Student. (I am a student.)
• Das Wetter ist schön. (The weather is nice.)

Negative Sentences To negate a sentence with sein, you'll typically use nicht (not). It usually comes after the verb.

• Ich bin nicht müde. (I am not tired.)
• Er ist nicht aus Deutschland. (He is not from Germany.)

Questions Forming questions with sein follows the same pattern as with haben. For a yes/no question, the verb comes first.

• Bist du Student? (Are you a student?)

For W-questions, the structure is Question Word + Verb + Subject.

• Wo sind Sie? (Where are you?)
• Wer ist das? (Who is that?)

Now let's check your understanding of these essential verbs.

Mastering haben and sein is your first major step toward speaking German. Practice them until they feel natural.