Abholen Conjugation in German
abholen means “to pick up” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of abholen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “I pick up my daughter from school.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and abholen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: abholen
- English: to pick up
- Verb type: Weak separable verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): abholend
- Past participle (Partizip II): abgeholt
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Separable prefix: ab — the prefix splits off in finite forms (for example, hole ab) and takes ge- between prefix and stem in the past participle (abgeholt).
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for abholen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for abholen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hole ab |
| du | holst ab |
| er/sie/es | holt ab |
| wir | holen ab |
| ihr | holt ab |
| sie/Sie | holen ab |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | holte ab |
| du | holtest ab |
| er/sie/es | holte ab |
| wir | holten ab |
| ihr | holtet ab |
| sie/Sie | holten ab |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe abgeholt |
| du | hast abgeholt |
| er/sie/es | hat abgeholt |
| wir | haben abgeholt |
| ihr | habt abgeholt |
| sie/Sie | haben abgeholt |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte abgeholt |
| du | hattest abgeholt |
| er/sie/es | hatte abgeholt |
| wir | hatten abgeholt |
| ihr | hattet abgeholt |
| sie/Sie | hatten abgeholt |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde abholen |
| du | wirst abholen |
| er/sie/es | wird abholen |
| wir | werden abholen |
| ihr | werdet abholen |
| sie/Sie | werden abholen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde abgeholt haben |
| du | wirst abgeholt haben |
| er/sie/es | wird abgeholt haben |
| wir | werden abgeholt haben |
| ihr | werdet abgeholt haben |
| sie/Sie | werden abgeholt haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hole ab |
| du | holest ab |
| er/sie/es | hole ab |
| wir | holen ab |
| ihr | holet ab |
| sie/Sie | holen ab |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | holte ab |
| du | holtest ab |
| er/sie/es | holte ab |
| wir | holten ab |
| ihr | holtet ab |
| sie/Sie | holten ab |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte abgeholt |
| du | hättest abgeholt |
| er/sie/es | hätte abgeholt |
| wir | hätten abgeholt |
| ihr | hättet abgeholt |
| sie/Sie | hätten abgeholt |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | hol ab |
| wir | abholen |
| ihr | holt ab |
| sie/Sie | abholen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | abholend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | abgeholt |
| Infinitive | abholen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With abholen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “I pick up my daughter from school.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With abholen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du holtest meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “You picked up my daughter from school.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With abholen it is formed with haben + the past participle abgeholt. For example: “Er hat meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt.” — “He has picked up my daughter from school.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt.” — “We had picked up my daughter from school.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet meine Tochter von der Schule abholen.” — “You will pick up my daughter from school.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt haben.” — “They will have picked up my daughter from school.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine Tochter von der Schule abhole.” — “It is important that I pick up my daughter from school.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du holtest meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “You would pick up my daughter from school if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt.” — “He would have picked up my daughter from school if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With abholen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Hol meine Tochter von der Schule ab!” — “Pick up my daughter from school!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is abholend — “while picking up” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is abgeholt, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe abgeholt. The infinitive is abholen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with abholen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “I pick up my daughter from school.”
- “Du holst meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “You pick up my daughter from school.”
- “Er holte meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “He picked up my daughter from school.”
- “Ich habe meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt.” — “I have picked up my daughter from school.”
- “Er hatte meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt.” — “He had picked up my daughter from school.”
- “Wir werden meine Tochter von der Schule abholen.” — “We will pick up my daughter from school.”
- “Ich werde meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt haben.” — “I will have picked up my daughter from school.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine Tochter von der Schule abhole.” — “It is important that I pick up my daughter from school.”
- “Ich holte meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “I would pick up my daughter from school if I could.”
- “Hol meine Tochter von der Schule ab!” — “Pick up my daughter from school!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich abholen meine Tochter von der Schule.”
✓ Right: “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.”
The infinitive abholen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form hole ab.
2. Confusing abholen with bringen
✗ Wrong: “Ich bringen meine Tochter von der Schule.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.”
abholen means “to pick up”; bringen means “to bring”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting to split the separable prefix
✗ Wrong: “Ich abholen meine Tochter von der Schule.” (prefix left attached to the stem)
✓ Right: “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.”
abholen is separable: in finite forms the prefix ab goes to the end of the clause — hole ab — not next to the stem.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meine Tochter von der Schule abholst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meine Tochter von der Schule abholest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use holest ab here, not the indicative holst ab.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Tochter von der Schule abgeholt.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe abgeholt), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of abholen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) holen ab
- B) holt ab
- C) holst ab
- D) hole ab
What is the er/sie/es form of abholen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) holst ab
- B) hole ab
- C) holen ab
- D) holt ab
What is the ich form of abholen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) holten ab
- B) holtest ab
- C) holtet ab
- D) holte ab
What is the ich form of abholen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe abgeholt
- B) habt abgeholt
- C) hast abgeholt
- D) hat abgeholt
What is the wir form of abholen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest abgeholt
- B) hattet abgeholt
- C) hatten abgeholt
- D) hatte abgeholt
What is the du form of abholen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst abholen
- B) werdet abholen
- C) werde abholen
- D) werden abholen
What is the ich form of abholen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) werden abgeholt haben
- B) wirst abgeholt haben
- C) werdet abgeholt haben
- D) werde abgeholt haben
What is the ich form of abholen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) holten ab
- B) holtest ab
- C) holte ab
- D) holtet ab
What is the past participle of abholen?
- A) holte ab
- B) abgeholt
- C) hole ab
- D) abholend
What does abholen mean in English?
- A) to bring
- B) to come
- C) to do
- D) to pick up
Answer key
- D) hole ab — the ich form of abholen in the present tense is hole ab.
- D) holt ab — the er/sie/es form of abholen in the present tense is holt ab.
- D) holte ab — the ich form of abholen in the preterite is holte ab.
- A) habe abgeholt — the ich form of abholen in the Perfekt is habe abgeholt.
- C) hatten abgeholt — the wir form of abholen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten abgeholt.
- A) wirst abholen — the du form of abholen in the Futur I is wirst abholen.
- D) werde abgeholt haben — the ich form of abholen in the Futur II is werde abgeholt haben.
- C) holte ab — the ich form of abholen in the Konjunktiv II is holte ab.
- B) abgeholt — the past participle of abholen is abgeholt; perfect tenses use haben + abgeholt.
- D) to pick up — abholen means “to pick up” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does abholen mean in English?
abholen means “to pick up”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” (“I pick up my daughter from school.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is abholen regular or irregular?
abholen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is abholend and the past participle is abgeholt.
What are the participles of abholen?
The present participle is abholend and the past participle is abgeholt — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe abgeholt.
What is the difference between abholen and bringen?
abholen means “to pick up”, while bringen means “to bring”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for bringen and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I pick up” in German?
Say “Ich hole meine Tochter von der Schule ab.” — “I pick up my daughter from school.” The ich form of the present is hole ab, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn abholen
Start with the present tense: hole ab, holst ab, holt ab, holen ab, holt ab, holen ab. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe abgeholt — and the Präteritum — holte ab. Next, learn the future (werde abholen) and the Konjunktiv II (holte ab), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (hole ab) and the imperative (hol ab). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- abholen in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- abholen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise abholen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise abholen with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.