Good to know. Irregular (strong) verb: the stem changes. Learn the key forms together and the rest follows.
helfen in every tense
The three you'll use most are highlighted: Präsens for now, Perfekt for the past when you speak, Futur I for later.
Präsens
now
| ich | helfeI help |
|---|---|
| du | hilfstyou help |
| er/sie/es | hilfthe/she helps |
| wir | helfenwe help |
| ihr | helftyou help |
| sie/Sie | helfenthey help |
Präteritum
past, mostly written
| ich | halfI helped |
|---|---|
| du | halfstyou helped |
| er/sie/es | halfhe/she helped |
| wir | halfenwe helped |
| ihr | halftyou helped |
| sie/Sie | halfenthey helped |
Perfekt
past, spoken, with haben
| ich | habe geholfenI have helped |
|---|---|
| du | hast geholfenyou have helped |
| er/sie/es | hat geholfenhe/she has helped |
| wir | haben geholfenwe have helped |
| ihr | habt geholfenyou have helped |
| sie/Sie | haben geholfenthey have helped |
Plusquamperfekt
had done
| ich | hatte geholfenI had helped |
|---|---|
| du | hattest geholfenyou had helped |
| er/sie/es | hatte geholfenhe/she had helped |
| wir | hatten geholfenwe had helped |
| ihr | hattet geholfenyou had helped |
| sie/Sie | hatten geholfenthey had helped |
Futur I
will do
| ich | werde helfenI will help |
|---|---|
| du | wirst helfenyou will help |
| er/sie/es | wird helfenhe/she will help |
| wir | werden helfenwe will help |
| ihr | werdet helfenyou will help |
| sie/Sie | werden helfenthey will help |
Imperativ
telling someone to do it
| du | Hilf! |
|---|---|
| ihr | Helft! |
| Sie | Helfen Sie! |
helfen in use
- A1
Kann ich Ihnen helfen?
Can I help you?
- A1
Hilf mir bitte!
Please help me!
- A2
Er hat mir beim Umzug geholfen.
He helped me with the move.
bei + Dativ = with (a task)
- B1
Das Medikament half sofort.
The medicine helped straight away.
Phrases
- Hilfe!Help!
Good to know
- helfen takes the Dativ: Ich helfe dir (not 'dich').
- e → i: du hilfst, er hilft.
- Goes with: jemandem (Dativ) bei etwas (Dativ) helfen
Build it yourself.
Ziplex has a Verben bauen game: build verb forms from tiles, with the verbs from your own posts. Plus short posts at your level to see them in action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is helfen with haben or sein in the Perfekt?
helfen takes haben. For example: habe geholfen.
What is the past tense of helfen?
Präteritum: half. Perfekt: habe geholfen.
Is helfen a regular verb?
No, it's irregular (strong): the stem changes.