werden
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʋɛrdə(n)/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛrdən
Anagrams
German
Etymology
From Middle High German wërden, from Old High German werdan, from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþaną. Cognate with Dutch worden, obsolete English worth, Swedish varda, Norwegian Nynorsk verta, and also with Latin vertere (“to turn”).
The use as a passive auxiliary is old and found throughout West Germanic, whereas the use as a future auxiliary is a Middle High German innovation. It originated in inchoative constructions with the present participle: er wirt lachende (“he starts laughing, is about to laugh, will laugh”). Since the 14th century, the participle was increasingly replaced with the infinitive, probably by analogy with the older future auxiliaries wollen (“will”) and sollen (“shall”). These latter were displaced by werden in Modern German, but survive dialectally.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈveːʁdən/, [ˈveːɐ̯.dn̩], [ˈvɛɐ̯-], [ʋ-], [-dən]
audio (file) audio (file)
Verb
werden (irregular, third-person singular present wird, past tense wurde or (archaic) ward, past participle geworden or (as an auxiliary) worden, past subjunctive würde, auxiliary sein)
- (auxiliary, with an infinitive, past participle geworden) will; to be going (to do something); forms the future tense
- Ich werde nach Hause gehen.
- I will go home.
- (auxiliary, in subjunctive with an infinitive) would; forms the subjunctive tense of most verbs
- (auxiliary, with a past participle, past participle worden) to be done; forms the passive voice
- Das Buch wird gerade gelesen. (present tense)
- The book is being read.
- Ich wurde in Europa geboren. (preterite tense)
- I was born in Europe.
- Er war geschlagen worden. (past perfect tense)
- He had been beaten.
- (copulative, past participle geworden) to become; to get; to grow; to turn
- Es wird heißer.
- It's getting hotter.
- (with a dative object and certain adjectives) to begin or come to feel or experience (a condition)
- Usage: In this sense werden is always conjugated in the third person singular and takes a dative noun. The impersonal subject es may be present, but is often taken as implied. (See the usage note for a similar meaning of sein.)
- Wird dir kalt? ― Are you getting cold?
- Den Kindern wird langweilig. ― The children are getting bored.
- Von Mayonnaise wird mir schlecht.
- Mayonnaise makes me sick. (Literally: From mayonnaise I become sick.)
- (copulative, colloquial) to be, to happen, to occur (in the future)
- Wir werden zusammen glücklich.
- We will be happy together.
- Was wird aus mir?
- What will become of me?
- (colloquial) to be going to work
- Das wird so nichts.
- It will not work like that.
- Synonyms: klappen, funktionieren
Conjugation
infinitive | werden | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | werdend | ||||
past participle | geworden worden1 | ||||
auxiliary | sein | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich werde | wir werden | i | ich werde | wir werden |
du wirst | ihr werdet | du werdest | ihr werdet | ||
er wird | sie werden | er werde | sie werden | ||
preterite | ich wurde ich ward2 |
wir wurden | ii | ich würde | wir würden |
du wurdest du wardst2 |
ihr wurdet | du würdest | ihr würdet | ||
er wurde er ward2 |
sie wurden | er würde | sie würden | ||
imperative | werd (du) werde (du) |
werdet (ihr) |
1As an auxiliary.
2Archaic.
Derived terms
- Werden
- Werdung
Further reading
- “werden” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “werden” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “werden” in OpenThesaurus.de
- “werden (with past participle worden)” in Duden online
- “werden (with past participle geworden)” in Duden online
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch werthan, from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþaną.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwerdən/
Inflection
Strong class 3 | ||
---|---|---|
Infinitive | werden | |
3rd sg. past | wart | |
3rd pl. past | worden | |
Past participle | geworden | |
Infinitive | werden | |
In genitive | werdens | |
In dative | werdene | |
Indicative | Present | Past |
1st singular | werde | wart |
2nd singular | werts, werdes | worts, wordes |
3rd singular | wert, werdet | wart |
1st plural | werden | worden |
2nd plural | wert, werdet | wort, wordet |
3rd plural | werden | worden |
Subjunctive | Present | Past |
1st singular | werde | worde |
2nd singular | werts, werdes | wordes |
3rd singular | werde | worde |
1st plural | werden | worden |
2nd plural | wert, werdet | wordet |
3rd plural | werden | worden |
Imperative | Present | |
Singular | wert, werde | |
Plural | wert, werdet | |
Present | Past | |
Participle | werdende | geworden |
Alternative forms
- worden (late)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “werden (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “werden (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II
Middle High German
Etymology
Inherited from Old High German werdan, from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþaną. Cognate with Dutch worden and obsolete English worth (“to become”).
Verb
wërden (class 3 strong, third-person singular present wirdet, past tense wart, past participle worden, past subjunctive würde, auxiliary sîn)
- to become
Conjugation
infinitive | wërden | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
genitive gerund | wërdennes wërdenes | ||||
dative gerund | wërdenne wërdene | ||||
present participle | wërdende | ||||
past participle | worden | ||||
auxiliary | sîn | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich wirde | wir wërden | i | ich wërde | wir wërden |
du wirdest | ir wërdet | du wërdest | ir wërdet | ||
ër wirdet | sie wërdent | ër wërde | sie wërden | ||
preterite | ich wart | wir wurden | ii | ich würde | wir würden |
du würde | ir wurdet | du würdest | ir würdet | ||
ër wart | sie wurden | ër würde | sie würden | ||
imperative | wirt (du) | wërdet (ir) |
Descendants
Middle Low German
Etymology
From Old Saxon wērthan (“to become”), from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþaną.
Pronunciation
- Stem vowel: ê²
- (originally) IPA(key): /wɛːrdən/ or IPA(key): /wærdən/
- While the combination /rd/ originally lengthened the vowel in Old Saxon, in several Middle Low German dialects it was treated like a geminate, or had actually become /r/, and in turn shortened long vowels occurring before it. Further, the vowel was shortened before /rt/ from final obstruent devoicing. Dialects then often begun to apply the more common vowel length across all forms.
Conjugation
Plain Infinitive | werden | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Full Infinitive (Gerund) | tô werdene or tô werdende | |||
Verbal Noun | werden or werdent | |||
Participles | Imperatives | |||
Present | werdende | 2nd Person Singular | wert | |
Past | geworden | 2nd Person Plural | werdet | |
Indicative | Subjunctive | |||
Present | Preterite | Present | Preterite | |
1st Person Singular | werde | wart | werde | wörde |
2nd Person Singular | werdest or wertst | wordest or wördest | werdest | wördest |
3rd Person Singular | werdet or wert | wart | werdet | wörde |
Plural | werden (werdet?) | worden or wörden | werden | wörden |