wird vs ist in present tense in German

Learn wird vs ist in present tense in German. Build fluency with personalized exercises, chats, and video recommendations.

Both wird and ist are used in the present tense but in different ways:

ist (to be)

• Permanent attributes / descriptions:
  • Sie ist ein Mensch. (She is a human.)
  • Er ist groß. (He is tall.)
• Temporary state / condition:
  • Wie ist das Wetter heute? (How is the weather today?)
  • Die Suppe ist kalt. (The soup is cold.)
• Location:
  • Der Bahnhof ist hier. (The train station is here.)
• Time / Dates:
  • Es ist 10 Uhr. (It is 10 o'clock.)
  • Heute ist Montag. (Today is Monday.)
• Possession:
  • Das ist mein Auto. (This is my car.)

wird (to become / to get / auxiliary verb for future tense/passive voice)

• Becoming / changing state:
  • Das Kind wird erwachsen. (The child is growing up / becoming an adult.)
  • Die Blätter werden grün. (The leaves are turning green.)
  • Mir wird kalt. (I'm getting cold.)
• Auxiliary verb for future tense (formed with werden + infinitive):
  • Ich werde essen. (I will eat.)
• Auxiliary verb for passive voice (formed with werden + past participle):
  • Das Auto wird repariert. (The car is being repaired.)

Key Difference:

• ist describes a state or condition that is current.
• wird describes a state or condition that is changing or will happen.

For example: Die Milch ist sauer. (The milk is sour - it's currently sour.) Die Milch wird sauer. (The milk is turning sour - it's in the process of becoming sour.)

Related Topics: Present Tense Verb Conjugation, Future Tense, Passive Voice

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