In German, the absentive aspect is used to say that someone “out doing” or “off doing” something: they are absent from one place and something else. It is formed by combining a form of sein(to be) the infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. form of the word for the activity being performed.
seininfinitive
Die Frauen sind einkaufen.
The women are off shopping.
Maria ist noch die Post holen.
Maria is off getting the mail.
Does that sound a little unfamiliar and strange to you? Don’t fret. We’ll break the absentive aspect down for you in a way that is easy to digest in this article.
How to form the absentive aspect in German?
Forming the absentive aspect in German is quite easy: just combine the verb sein(to be) in either the present tense or simple past tense with the infinitive of whatever action someone is away performing.
sein(to be)present / simple past
Leo ist (in der Küche) essen.
Leo is off eating (in the kitchen).
Die Kinder waren (auf dem Spielplatz) spielen.
The kids were off playing (on the playground).
As you can see, you are allowed to add more information about where the person is instead, but it’s not necessary. All that is important is that while performing the infinitive verb, the person is absent. If you do want to add this information, though, the most natural place is between sein and the infinitive.
seininfinitive
Nadine und Tina sind das Bad putzen.
Nadine and Tina are off cleaning (the bathroom).
It is easy for English speakers to get the absentive aspect confused with the English progressive, (“is verbing”) which is very similar in structure!
Remember, that in German sein(to be) + infinitive expresses absence, not just a continuing action. You’ll need to add an extra word like “out” or “off” or “away” to the English translation to capture the full meaning!
seininfinitive
He is out / off / away studying.
❌He is studying.
There are a few different ways to express the progressive in German, but probably the simplest is to use beim or am before a verb turned into a noun. Notice the difference between this structure and the absentive aspect:
Progressive → something is happeningnominalized verb
Karin ist am / beim Einkaufen.
Absentive → someone is absent and doing something Occasionally, you may hear the verb bleiben(to stay) used to form the absentive aspect instead of sein(to be). Using bleiben can imply that the action continued for a longer period of time.
bleibeninfinitive
Paul blieb noch bis spät in die Nacht arbeiten.
Paul stayed working until late at night.
When to use the absentive aspect in German?
In German, we mostly use the absentive aspect in spoken or casual language when three conditions are met:
Someone is absent from the location under discussion.
Someone is performing some task while they are absent.
They will return to the location under discussion when that task is over.
Generally, these are cases where you might say, in English, that someone is “out doing something” or “off doing something.” Look at the examples below:
seininfinitive
Gestern war Karin wieder einkaufen.
Yesterday Karin was off shopping again.
→ (1) She was away; (2) She was shopping; (3) She probably came back when she finished.
Heute ist Karin arbeiten.
Yesterday Karin was off shopping again.
→ (1) She is away; (2) She is working; (3) She will probably come back when she’s finished.
→ (1) He is away; (2) He is running; (3) He will probably come back when he’s finished.
Die Geschwister sind in England studieren.
Yesterday Karin was off shopping again.
→ (1) They are away; (2) They are studying; (3) They will probably return when they’re finished.
Sabine ist in der Türkei Urlaub machen.
Sabine is off vacationing in Turkey (and she will return home at some point).
→ (1) She is away; (2) She is vacationing; (3) She will probably return when she’s done.
When using the absentive aspect, the action someone is “out doing” needs to be an action a person can do on purpose (also known as an “agentive verb”). Stative verbs, like denken(to think), fühlen(to feel), and schmecken(to taste), can’t be used in this construction:
❌Elisa ist im Zimmer denken.
Elisa is in her room thinking.
If you want to say that someone is away and is engaged in a situation like this, you’ll need to use another grammatical construction:
✅Elisa ist im Zimmer und denkt nach.
Elisa is in her room thinking.
The absentive aspect is by no means the only way to say that someone is absent or out doing something in German. For example, the following sentences all discuss absence without the absentive aspect.
Die Kinder spielen draußen.
The kids are playing outside.
However, the absentive aspect does helpfully package up (1) absence (2) action (3) expected return in a neat and handy grammatical structure, and so using it can be helpful in everyday speech. Here’s an example dialogue:
Paul:Wo ist Peter denn schon wieder?
Sabine:Peter ist die Bücher abgeben.
Peter is out returning the books.
Paul:Ich dachte, das hat er gestern gemacht!
I thought he did that yesterday!
Sabine:Nein, gestern war er arbeiten.
No, he was off working yesterday.
Summary
Here are the most important things to remember about the German absentive aspect:
You can use the absentive aspect in a situation where:
They are doing some intentional action while they’re gone.
They are expected to return at some point.
Form the absentive aspect using sein(to be) + infinitive.
Remember that you can’t translate these sentences as “is/was verbing”, you’ll need to add an extra word like “out,” “off,” or “away,” as in “is/was away verbing.”
Are you ready to practice? Check out these German absentive aspect exercises!
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