Today we’ll be talking about four verbs that have both strong and weak forms.
Weak verbs are regular verbs. There is no stem vowel change in any tense. Strong verbs, on the other hand, are irregular verbs. They change their stem vowel in one or more tenses.
Some verbs have both strong and weak forms, usually with different meanings. In this article we’ll have a look at four of them: BEWEGEN, GÄREN, SCHAFFEN and SCHEREN.
So, let’s get started. The first verb we’re going to talk about is BEWEGEN.
bewegen
Weak Form
As a weak verb, it has the following regular forms:
bewegen – bewegte – hat bewegt
The first form in this and the following examples is the infinitive, so the base form. The second form is the one used in Imperfekt tense (also known as the Präteritum tense), which is one of the past tenses in German. The third form, shown here with the auxiliary verb, is the Perfekt form.
Anyway, as a weak verb BEWEGEN means TO MOVE (literally, in physical sense, or figuratively, in emotional sense).
Here are some examples. First, the literal meaning.
Der Wind hat die Blätter leicht bewegt.
The wind was slightly moving the leaves.
And now in figurative sense.
Der Film hat mich sehr bewegt.
The movie was very moving. (literally: moved me very much)
Strong Form
As a strong verb, it has the following forms:
bewegen – bewog – hat bewogen
It means TO INDUCE, TO PERSUADE, TO MAKE SOMEONE DO STH
Die Situation hat ihn zum Verbrechen bewogen.
The situation induced him to commit crime.
Was hat ihn dazu bewogen?
What made him do that?
gären
Weak or Strong Form
The basic meaning of the verb GÄREN is TO FERMENT. As such, either form may be used, so weak or strong. The weak forms are:
gären – gärte – hat / ist gegärt
As you can see, either auxiliary verb may be used. The strong forms are:
gären – gor – ist gegoren
Here’s an example:
Der Wein ist zu Essig gegoren.
The wine fermented to vinegar.
Weak Form
As a weak verb, it has the following forms:
gären – gärte – hat / ist gegärt
It means TO SEETHE.
Schon seit einiger Zeit hat es im Volk gegärt.
The people have been seething (with anger) for some time now.
schaffen
Strong Form
If the verb SCHAFFEN is strong, it has the following irregular forms:
schaffen – schuf – hat geschaffen
It then means TO CREATE, TO MAKE.
Der Maler hat ein neues Meisterwerk geschaffen.
The painter created a new masterpiece.
Sie ist für die Arbeit mit Kindern wie geschaffen.
She’s just made for working with children.
Weak Form
As a weak verb, it has the forms:
schaffen – schaffte – hat geschafft
It means TO MANAGE, TO MAKE IT.
Er hat es tatsächlich geschafft, sein altes Auto zu verkaufen.
He really managed to sell his old car.
Wir haben es leider nicht geschafft.
Unfortunately, we didn’t make it.
scheren
Strong Form
The verb SCHEREN may be strong or weak too. If it’s strong, it has the following forms:
scheren – schor – hat geschoren
And it means TO CLIP, TO SHEAR, TO CROP.
Der Schäfer hat die Schafe geschoren.
The shepherd sheared the sheep.
Ihre Haare waren zu kurz geschoren.
Her hair was cropped too short.
Weak Form
The weak verb has the following regular forms:
(sich) scheren – scherte (sich) – hat (sich) geschert
And it means TO CARE.
It may be used as a reflexive verb.
Er scherte sich nicht im Geringsten um seine Arbeit.
He couldn’t have cared less about his work.
It may also follow the impersonal pronoun ES and then the actual subject is in accusative case.
Es scherte ihn nicht, dass sein Hund die ganze Nacht bellte.
He didn’t care about his dog barking all night.
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