Anfangen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Anfangen means “to start”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for anfangen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with anfangen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I start work at eight o'clock.”
  2. “Du fängst ein neues Buch heute an.” — “You start a new book today.”
  3. “Ich habe mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “I have started reading in the evening.”
  4. “Er fing die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “He started work at eight o'clock.”
  5. “Wir werden ein neues Buch heute anfangen.” — “We will start a new book today.”
  6. “Du hast mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “You have started reading in the evening.”
  7. “Ich finge die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I would start work at eight o'clock.”
  8. “Er fange ein neues Buch heute an.” — “He starts a new book today.”
  9. “Wir hatten mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “We had started reading in the evening.”
  10. “Er wird die Arbeit um acht Uhr anfangen.” — “He will start work at eight o'clock.”
  11. “Sie fangen ein neues Buch heute an.” — “They start a new book today.”
  12. “Fang mit dem Lesen am Abend an!” — “Start reading in the evening!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about work at eight o'clock. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how anfangen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of anfangen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Fängst du die Arbeit um acht Uhr an?” — “You start work at eight o'clock?” Jonas: “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I start work at eight o'clock.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde ein neues Buch heute anfangen.” — “I will start a new book today.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “I have started reading in the evening.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich finge die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I would start work at eight o'clock.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Anfangen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of anfangen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, anfangen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is fange an: “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I start work at eight o'clock.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, anfangen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is fing an: “Er fing ein neues Buch heute an.” — “He started a new book today.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, anfangen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle angefangen. The ich form is habe angefangen: “Ich habe mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “I have started reading in the evening.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, anfangen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden anfangen: “Wir werden die Arbeit um acht Uhr anfangen.” — “We will start work at eight o'clock.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, anfangen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is fingest an: “Du fingest ein neues Buch heute an.” — “You would start a new book today.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, anfangen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is fange an: “Er fange mit dem Lesen am Abend an.” — “He starts reading in the evening.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich anfangen die Arbeit um acht Uhr.”

✓ Right: “Ich fange an die Arbeit um acht Uhr.”

The infinitive anfangen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form fange an.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du fange an die Arbeit um acht Uhr.”

✓ Right: “Du fängst an die Arbeit um acht Uhr.”

fange an is the ich form. With du you need fängst an. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich fange an die Arbeit um acht Uhr gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Arbeit um acht Uhr angefangen.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe angefangen, not the present.

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich fange an die Arbeit um acht Uhr.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich fange an die Arbeit um acht Uhr.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: fange an, not the indicative fange an.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich angefangen die Arbeit um acht Uhr.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Arbeit um acht Uhr angefangen.”

The Perfekt of anfangen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle angefangen: the full ich form is habe angefangen.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on anfangen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of anfangen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) fange an
    • B) fängst an
    • C) fängt an
    • D) fangen an

  2. What is the du form of anfangen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) fange an
    • B) fängt an
    • C) fangen an
    • D) fängst an

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of anfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) haben angefangen
    • B) hat angefangen
    • C) habe angefangen
    • D) hast angefangen

  4. What is the wir form of anfangen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) fingst an
    • B) fingt an
    • C) fingen an
    • D) fing an

  5. What is the du form of anfangen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werden anfangen
    • B) wirst anfangen
    • C) werde anfangen
    • D) wird anfangen

  6. What is the ich form of anfangen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) finge an
    • B) fingest an
    • C) fingen an
    • D) finget an

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of anfangen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) fange an
    • B) fangest an
    • C) fangen an
    • D) fanget an

  8. What is the ich form of anfangen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hatte angefangen
    • B) hattest angefangen
    • C) hatten angefangen
    • D) hattet angefangen

  9. What is the past participle of anfangen?

    • A) gefragt
    • B) geantwortet
    • C) angefangen
    • D) aufgehört

  10. What does anfangen mean in English?

  • A) to stop
  • B) to ask
  • C) to answer
  • D) to start

Answer key

  1. A) fange an — the ich form of anfangen in the Present (Präsens) is fange an. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) fängst an — the du form of anfangen in the Present (Präsens) is fängst an. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) hat angefangen — the er/sie/es form of anfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat angefangen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) fingen an — the wir form of anfangen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is fingen an. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) wirst anfangen — the du form of anfangen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst anfangen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) finge an — the ich form of anfangen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is finge an. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) fange an — the er/sie/es form of anfangen in the Konjunktiv I is fange an. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) hatte angefangen — the ich form of anfangen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte angefangen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) angefangen — the past participle of anfangen is angefangen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to start — anfangen means “to start” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does anfangen mean in English?

anfangen means “to start”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is anfangen regular or irregular?

anfangen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is anfangend and the past participle is angefangen.

How do I practise anfangen every day?

Say one sentence with anfangen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.”, “Ich habe die Arbeit um acht Uhr angefangen.” and “Ich werde die Arbeit um acht Uhr anfangen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for anfangen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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