zwingen

to force/compel

Past (Präteritum)

zwang

Past participle

gezwungen (haben)

This is a strong verb with the ablaut sequence i-a-u. It often takes a direct object followed by 'zu' + infinitive to express compelling someone to do something (e.g., 'Er zwang mich zu gehen'). It is transitive and consistently takes 'haben' as an auxiliary verb in compound tenses because it expresses an action performed on an object rather than a change of state or movement of the subject itself. Its meaning is slightly stronger than 'nötigen' and implies a form of pressure or necessity that leaves little choice for the person being forced, as seen in the text where the photo forces the narrator to make a decision they had long delayed. As a note for learners, pay attention to the stem change in the preterite form (zwang) and the past participle (gezwungen), as they are irregular compared to regular weak verbs in German grammar. The past subjunctive II is 'zwänge', which is used in formal or literary contexts to express hypothetical situations regarding being forced to do something, though it is used less frequently than the indicative forms. It is rarely used in reflexive constructions unless expressing extreme internal pressure or self-compulsion, such as 'sich zu etwas zwingen'. Ensure you memorize the stem 'zwang' well, as it is a fundamental verb in German discourse regarding necessity and external or internal compulsion. Being a strong verb, it also has specific forms in the Konjunktiv II (zwänge) that might appear in higher-level texts or literature, particularly when describing hypothetical scenarios where someone might be compelled to act against their will or desire under difficult circumstances, though for learners, focusing on the indicative forms is most important initially for standard usage and written comprehension.

Conjugation

Present

zwingt

present, singular, third-person

zwinge

first-person, indicative, present, singular

zwingen

first-person, indicative, plural, present

zwingst

indicative, present, second-person, singular

Past

zwang

past

zwangen

first-person, indicative, plural, preterite

zwangst

indicative, preterite, second-person, singular

zwangt

indicative, plural, preterite, second-person

Subjunctive

zwänge

past, subjunctive

zwinge

first-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

zwingen

first-person, plural, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

zwingest

second-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

zwinget

plural, second-person, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

zwängen

first-person, formal, plural, rare, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

zwängest

formal, rare, second-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

zwängst

formal, rare, second-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

zwänget

formal, plural, rare, second-person, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

zwängt

formal, plural, rare, second-person, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

habe gezwungen

first-person, multiword-construction, perfect, singular, subjunctive

haben gezwungen

first-person, multiword-construction, perfect, plural, subjunctive

habest gezwungen

multiword-construction, perfect, second-person, singular, subjunctive

habet gezwungen

multiword-construction, perfect, plural, second-person, subjunctive

hätte gezwungen

first-person, multiword-construction, pluperfect, singular, subjunctive

hätten gezwungen

first-person, multiword-construction, pluperfect, plural, subjunctive

hättest gezwungen

multiword-construction, pluperfect, second-person, singular, subjunctive

hättet gezwungen

multiword-construction, pluperfect, plural, second-person, subjunctive

werde zwingen

first-person, future, future-i, multiword-construction, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

werden zwingen

first-person, future, future-i, multiword-construction, plural, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

werdest zwingen

future, future-i, multiword-construction, second-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

werdet zwingen

future, future-i, multiword-construction, plural, second-person, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

würde zwingen

first-person, future, future-i, multiword-construction, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

würden zwingen

first-person, future, future-i, multiword-construction, plural, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

würdest zwingen

future, future-i, multiword-construction, second-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

würdet zwingen

future, future-i, multiword-construction, plural, second-person, subjunctive, subjunctive-ii

werde gezwungen haben

first-person, future, future-ii, multiword-construction, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

werden gezwungen haben

first-person, future, future-ii, multiword-construction, plural, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

werdest gezwungen haben

future, future-ii, multiword-construction, second-person, singular, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

werdet gezwungen haben

future, future-ii, multiword-construction, plural, second-person, subjunctive, subjunctive-i

Imperative

zwing

imperative, second-person, singular

zwinge

imperative, second-person, singular

zwingt

imperative, plural, second-person

Participle

gezwungen

participle, past

zwingend

participle, present

Infinitive

zwingen

infinitive

Other

habe gezwungen

first-person, indicative, multiword-construction, perfect, singular

haben gezwungen

first-person, indicative, multiword-construction, perfect, plural

hast gezwungen

indicative, multiword-construction, perfect, second-person, singular

habt gezwungen

indicative, multiword-construction, perfect, plural, second-person

hat gezwungen

indicative, multiword-construction, perfect, singular, third-person

hatte gezwungen

first-person, indicative, multiword-construction, pluperfect, singular

hatten gezwungen

first-person, indicative, multiword-construction, pluperfect, plural

hattest gezwungen

indicative, multiword-construction, pluperfect, second-person, singular

hattet gezwungen

indicative, multiword-construction, pluperfect, plural, second-person

zwingen werden

future, future-i, infinitive, multiword-construction

werde zwingen

first-person, future, future-i, indicative, multiword-construction, singular

werden zwingen

first-person, future, future-i, indicative, multiword-construction, plural

wirst zwingen

future, future-i, indicative, multiword-construction, second-person, singular

werdet zwingen

future, future-i, indicative, multiword-construction, plural, second-person

wird zwingen

future, future-i, indicative, multiword-construction, singular, third-person

gezwungen haben werden

future, future-ii, infinitive, multiword-construction

werde gezwungen haben

first-person, future, future-ii, indicative, multiword-construction, singular

werden gezwungen haben

first-person, future, future-ii, indicative, multiword-construction, plural

wirst gezwungen haben

future, future-ii, indicative, multiword-construction, second-person, singular

werdet gezwungen haben

future, future-ii, indicative, multiword-construction, plural, second-person

wird gezwungen haben

future, future-ii, indicative, multiword-construction, singular, third-person

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