Anfangen Conjugation in German

anfangen means “to start” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 341 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I start work at eight o'clock.” — and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of anfangen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: anfangen
  • English: to start
  • Verb type: Irregular
  • Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
  • Present participle (Partizip I): anfangend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): angefangen
  • Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
  • Pattern: strong in the verified tables
  • Separable prefix: an- (the prefix splits off in finite forms: ich fange an, and sits between prefix and stem in the participle: angefangen)

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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read anfangen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about anfangen

  1. It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle angefangen. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
  3. The participles are anfangend and angefangen: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
  4. The prefix splits: in main clauses the prefix an goes to the end of the clause — ich fange an — while in the infinitive and the participle it stays with the stem (anfangen, angefangen). Watch the word order in the example sentences below.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for anfangen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present (Präsens)

Person Form
ich fange an
du fängst an
er/sie/es fängt an
wir fangen an
ihr fangt an
sie/Sie fangen an

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With anfangen 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 fange ein neues Buch heute an.” — “I start a new book today.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich fing an
du fingst an
er/sie/es fing an
wir fingen an
ihr fingt an
sie/Sie fingen an

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With anfangen 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 fingst ein neues Buch heute an.” — “You started a new book today.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe angefangen
du hast angefangen
er/sie/es hat angefangen
wir haben angefangen
ihr habt angefangen
sie/Sie haben angefangen

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat ein neues Buch heute angefangen.” — “He has started a new book today.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte angefangen
du hattest angefangen
er/sie/es hatte angefangen
wir hatten angefangen
ihr hattet angefangen
sie/Sie hatten angefangen

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte ein neues Buch heute angefangen.” — “I had started a new book today.”

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde anfangen
du wirst anfangen
er/sie/es wird anfangen
wir werden anfangen
ihr werdet anfangen
sie/Sie werden anfangen

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde ein neues Buch heute anfangen.” — “I will start a new book today.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde angefangen haben
du wirst angefangen haben
er/sie/es wird angefangen haben
wir werden angefangen haben
ihr werdet angefangen haben
sie/Sie werden angefangen haben

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst ein neues Buch heute angefangen haben.” — “You will have started a new book today.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich fange an
du fangest an
er/sie/es fange an
wir fangen an
ihr fanget an
sie/Sie fangen an

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er fange ein neues Buch heute an.” — “He starts a new book today.”

Konjunktiv II (conditional)

Person Form
ich finge an
du fingest an
er/sie/es finge an
wir fingen an
ihr finget an
sie/Sie fingen an

Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. For example: “Ich finge ein neues Buch heute an.” — “I would start a new book today.”

Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)

Person Form
ich hätte angefangen
du hättest angefangen
er/sie/es hätte angefangen
wir hätten angefangen
ihr hättet angefangen
sie/Sie hätten angefangen

The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte ein neues Buch heute angefangen.” — “He would have started a new book today.”

Imperative (Imperativ)

Person Form
du fang an
wir anfangen
ihr fangt an
sie/Sie anfangen

The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. With anfangen 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: “Fang ein neues Buch heute an!” — “Start a new book today!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle (Partizip I) anfangend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle anfangend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle (Partizip II) angefangen

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe die Arbeit um acht Uhr angefangen.” — “I have started work at eight o'clock.”

Infinitive (Infinitiv)

Form German
Infinitive anfangen

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with anfangen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I start work at eight o'clock.”
  2. “Du fingst ein neues Buch heute an.” — “You started a new book today.”
  3. “Er hat mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “He has started reading in the evening.”
  4. “Ich werde die Arbeit um acht Uhr anfangen.” — “I will start work at eight o'clock.”
  5. “Du fingest ein neues Buch heute an.” — “You would start a new book today.”
  6. “Ich hatte mit dem Lesen am Abend angefangen.” — “I had started reading in the evening.”
  7. “Du wirst ein neues Buch heute angefangen haben.” — “You will have started a new book today.”
  8. “Er fange mit dem Lesen am Abend an.” — “He starts reading in the evening.”
  9. “Ich hätte die Arbeit um acht Uhr angefangen.” — “I would have started work at eight o'clock.”
  10. “Fang die Arbeit um acht Uhr an!” — “Start work at eight o'clock!”

Common mistakes

1. 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 present form fange an.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

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

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

fangen an is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with fange an.

3. 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.

4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

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

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

The Perfekt of anfangen is formed with haben plus the past participle angefangen: the ich form is habe angefangen. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

5. Not splitting the separable prefix

✗ Wrong: “Ich fange an die Arbeit um acht Uhr.” (prefix left next to the verb)

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

In a main clause the prefix an splits off and goes to the end: ich fange an. The infinitive anfangen keeps the prefix attached, but a finite form does not.

6. Using the du form when talking to a group

✗ Wrong: “Fang die Arbeit um acht Uhr an!” (said to several people)

✓ Right: “Fangt die Arbeit um acht Uhr an!”

The du imperative fang an is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form fangt an.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on anfangen. Choose the right form, 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 er/sie/es form of anfangen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) fingt an
    • B) fing an
    • C) fingst an
    • D) fingen 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 du form of anfangen in the Future (Futur I)?

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

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

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

  6. What is the wir form of anfangen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

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

  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 du form of anfangen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?

    • A) fängst an
    • B) fang an
    • C) anfangen
    • D) fangt an

  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. B) fing an — the er/sie/es form of anfangen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is fing 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. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. C) hatten angefangen — the wir form of anfangen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten angefangen. 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. B) fang an — the du form of anfangen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is fang an. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) angefangen — the past participle of anfangen is angefangen; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is anfangend and the past participle is angefangen.

What are the participles of anfangen?

The present participle (Partizip I) is anfangend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is angefangen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe angefangen.

Which auxiliary does anfangen take in the Perfekt?

anfangen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe angefangen. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle angefangen.

Does German have a separate conditional tense?

No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form finge an is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte angefangen covers “would have” meanings.

How do I say “I start work at eight o'clock” in German?

Say “Ich fange die Arbeit um acht Uhr an.” — “I start work at eight o'clock.” The ich form of the present is fange an, and it is the form you will use most often.

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