Finite verb forms cover all five grammatical categories i.e. person, number, voice, mood and tense. They are conjugated.
| Example of a finite verb form | grammatical categories | |
|
spielst
|
2. person | person |
| singular | number | |
| active | voice | |
| indicative | mood | |
| present | tense | |
Non-finite verb forms do not express person, number and mood. These verb forms are not conjugated.
| Example of a non-finite verb form | grammatical categories | |
|
spielen
|
--- | person |
| --- | number | |
| active | voice | |
| --- | mood | |
| present | tense | |
In the German language, there are three types of non-finite verb forms:
| Examples | |
| the infinitive | spielen |
| the present participle (Partizip I) | spielend |
| the past participle (Partizip II) | gespielt |