albern
to act silly
To behave in a childish, unreasonable, or playfully exuberant way.
EXAMPLE
Die Kinder alberten im Wohnzimmer.
The children were fooling around in the living room.
albern
to fool around
albern – alberte – hat gealbert
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry albern, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Present
| ich | albere albre |
|---|---|
| du | alberst |
| er/sie/es | albert |
| wir | albern |
| ihr | albert |
| sie | albern |
Simple past
| ich | alberte |
|---|---|
| du | albertest |
| er/sie/es | alberte |
| wir | alberten |
| ihr | albertet |
| sie | alberten |
Perfect
with haben
| ich | habe gealbert |
|---|---|
| du | hast gealbert |
| er/sie/es | hat gealbert |
| wir | haben gealbert |
| ihr | habt gealbert |
| sie | haben gealbert |
Commands
| du | albere! alber!, albre! |
|---|---|
| ihr | albert! |
| Sie | albern Sie! |
Past perfect
| ich | hatte gealbert |
|---|---|
| du | hattest gealbert |
| er/sie/es | hatte gealbert |
| wir | hatten gealbert |
| ihr | hattet gealbert |
| sie | hatten gealbert |
Future
| ich | werde albern |
|---|---|
| du | wirst albern |
| er/sie/es | wird albern |
| wir | werden albern |
| ihr | werdet albern |
| sie | werden albern |
Subjunctive I
| ich | albere albre |
|---|---|
| du | alberst |
| er/sie/es | albere albre |
| wir | albern |
| ihr | albert |
| sie | albern |
Used for reported speech.
Subjunctive II
| ich | alberte |
|---|---|
| du | albertest |
| er/sie/es | alberte |
| wir | alberten |
| ihr | albertet |
| sie | alberten |
Used for wishes and “would”.
Other forms
| infinitive | albern |
|---|---|
| with zu | zu albern |
| present participle | albernd |
| past participle | gealbert |
Usage tips
Sentence structure
'Albern' (to fool around) is usually used without a direct object. The people involved can be introduced with 'mit' (with), especially in the expression 'mit jemandem albern' (to fool around with someone).
EXAMPLE
Der Junge alberte den ganzen Nachmittag mit seiner Cousine.
The boy fooled around with his cousin all afternoon.
Typical collocations
'Albern' (to fool around) often appears with information about a place, time, or group, for example while playing, during a break, or with friends. 'Herumalbern' (to fool around) is also a common combination with this verb.
EXAMPLE
Die Schüler alberten in der Pause mit ihren Freunden.
The students fooled around with their friends during the break.
Colloquial language
'Albern' (to fool around) is used especially in spoken everyday language and often describes a temporary situation that is not meant to be taken seriously.
EXAMPLE
Wir alberten kurz, bevor der Film begann.
We fooled around for a bit before the film started.
In real life
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