The "s" in the ending "-st" of the second person singular is deleted when the verb stem ends in
| s, ß, x, z |
This occurs in the following cases:
| present indicative | Präteritum indicative | |
| regular verbs | 2. person singular | --- |
| irregular verbs | 2. person singular | 2. person singular |
Some examples:
| regular verbs | ||
|
present indicative
|
||
| person | stem | ending |
| ich |
tanz
|
e |
| du |
tanz
|
t |
| er / sie / es |
tanz
|
t |
| wir |
tanz
|
en |
| ihr |
tanz
|
t |
| sie |
tanz
|
en |
| Sie |
tanz
|
en |
| irregular verbs | |||||
|
present indicative
|
Präteritum indicative | ||||
| person | stem | ending | stem | ending | |
| ich |
les
|
e |
las
|
-- | |
| du |
lies
|
t |
las
|
t * | |
| er / sie / es |
lies
|
t |
las
|
-- | |
| wir |
les
|
en |
las
|
en | |
| ihr |
les
|
t |
las
|
t | |
| sie |
les
|
en |
las
|
en | |
| Sie |
les
|
en |
las
|
en | |
* Seldom, the "s" of the ending is not deleted. In this case, an "e" is added to the ending (e.g. lasest).