herumalbern
to fool around
To act or spend time in a silly, unserious way, often disturbing others or wasting time.
EXAMPLE
Hört auf herumzualbern und macht endlich eure Hausaufgaben!
Stop fooling around and finally do your homework!
herumalbern
to fool around
herumalbern – alberte herum – hat herumgealbert
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry herumalbern, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Present
| ich | albere herum albre herum |
|---|---|
| du | alberst herum |
| er/sie/es | albert herum |
| wir | albern herum |
| ihr | albert herum |
| sie | albern herum |
Simple past
| ich | alberte herum |
|---|---|
| du | albertest herum |
| er/sie/es | alberte herum |
| wir | alberten herum |
| ihr | albertet herum |
| sie | alberten herum |
Perfect
with haben
| ich | habe herumgealbert |
|---|---|
| du | hast herumgealbert |
| er/sie/es | hat herumgealbert |
| wir | haben herumgealbert |
| ihr | habt herumgealbert |
| sie | haben herumgealbert |
Commands
| du | albere herum! alber herum!, albre herum! |
|---|---|
| ihr | albert herum! |
| Sie | albern Sie herum! |
Past perfect
| ich | hatte herumgealbert |
|---|---|
| du | hattest herumgealbert |
| er/sie/es | hatte herumgealbert |
| wir | hatten herumgealbert |
| ihr | hattet herumgealbert |
| sie | hatten herumgealbert |
Future
| ich | werde herumalbern |
|---|---|
| du | wirst herumalbern |
| er/sie/es | wird herumalbern |
| wir | werden herumalbern |
| ihr | werdet herumalbern |
| sie | werden herumalbern |
Subjunctive I
| ich | albere herum albre herum |
|---|---|
| du | alberst herum |
| er/sie/es | albere herum albre herum |
| wir | albern herum |
| ihr | albert herum |
| sie | albern herum |
Used for reported speech.
Subjunctive II
| ich | alberte herum |
|---|---|
| du | albertest herum |
| er/sie/es | alberte herum |
| wir | alberten herum |
| ihr | albertet herum |
| sie | alberten herum |
Used for wishes and “would”.
Other forms
| infinitive | herumalbern |
|---|---|
| with zu | herumzualbern |
| present participle | herumalbernd |
| past participle | herumgealbert |
Usage tips
Separable verb
'Herumalbern' (to fool around) is a separable verb made up of 'herum-' (around) and 'albern' (to act silly). In a main clause, 'herum' goes at the end of the clause; in a subordinate clause, the verb stays together. In the infinitive with 'zu', 'zu' goes between the prefix and the stem.
EXAMPLE
Die Kinder albern im Wohnzimmer herum.
The children are fooling around in the living room.
Sie ärgert sich, weil die Jugendlichen ständig herumalbern.
She is annoyed because the teenagers are constantly fooling around.
Es ist keine gute Idee, während der Arbeit herumzualbern.
It is not a good idea to fool around at work.
Word structure
The verb combines 'herum-' (around) with 'albern' (to act silly). Here, 'herum-' indicates an unstructured or aimless activity, so 'herumalbern' (to fool around) often describes spending an extended period acting silly.
EXAMPLE
Die Schüler alberten auf dem Flur herum, statt in den Klassenraum zu gehen.
The students were fooling around in the hallway instead of going into the classroom.
Typical collocations
'Herumalbern' (to fool around) often occurs with expressions indicating a place or situation, such as 'im Unterricht herumalbern' (to fool around in class), 'mit Freunden herumalbern' (to fool around with friends), or 'statt zu arbeiten herumalbern' (to fool around instead of working). The verb often describes behavior that disturbs others or distracts from a task.
EXAMPLE
Die beiden haben während der Besprechung mit ihren Handys herumgealbert.
The two of them were fooling around with their phones during the meeting.
Colloquial language
'Herumalbern' (to fool around) is mainly used in spoken, colloquial language. It is particularly suited to reproaches, instructions, and casual descriptions of behavior.
EXAMPLE
Gestern haben wir im Zug nur herumgealbert und viel gelacht.
Yesterday, we just fooled around on the train and laughed a lot.
In real life
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