Annehmen Conjugation in German
annehmen means “to accept” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of annehmen — 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 nehme das Angebot der Firma an.” — “I accept the firm's offer.” 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 annehmen 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: annehmen
- English: to accept
- Verb type: Strong separable verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): annehmend
- Past participle (Partizip II): angenommen
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Separable prefix: an — the prefix splits off in finite forms (for example, nehme an) and takes ge- between prefix and stem in the past participle (angenommen).
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for annehmen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
annehmen is a strong verb with a vowel change in the present tense: the stem vowel changes from e → i in the du and er/sie/es forms — nimmst an, nimmt an — while ich, wir, ihr and sie keep the plain stem. The preterite changes the stem again (nahm an), and the past participle is angenommen.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for annehmen. 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 | nehme an |
| du | nimmst an |
| er/sie/es | nimmt an |
| wir | nehmen an |
| ihr | nehmt an |
| sie/Sie | nehmen an |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | nahm an |
| du | nahmst an |
| er/sie/es | nahm an |
| wir | nahmen an |
| ihr | nahmt an |
| sie/Sie | nahmen an |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe angenommen |
| du | hast angenommen |
| er/sie/es | hat angenommen |
| wir | haben angenommen |
| ihr | habt angenommen |
| sie/Sie | haben angenommen |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte angenommen |
| du | hattest angenommen |
| er/sie/es | hatte angenommen |
| wir | hatten angenommen |
| ihr | hattet angenommen |
| sie/Sie | hatten angenommen |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde annehmen |
| du | wirst annehmen |
| er/sie/es | wird annehmen |
| wir | werden annehmen |
| ihr | werdet annehmen |
| sie/Sie | werden annehmen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde angenommen haben |
| du | wirst angenommen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird angenommen haben |
| wir | werden angenommen haben |
| ihr | werdet angenommen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden angenommen haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | nehme an |
| du | nehmest an |
| er/sie/es | nehme an |
| wir | nehmen an |
| ihr | nehmet an |
| sie/Sie | nehmen an |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | nähme an |
| du | nähmest an |
| er/sie/es | nähme an |
| wir | nähmen an |
| ihr | nähmet an |
| sie/Sie | nähmen an |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte angenommen |
| du | hättest angenommen |
| er/sie/es | hätte angenommen |
| wir | hätten angenommen |
| ihr | hättet angenommen |
| sie/Sie | hätten angenommen |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | nimm an |
| wir | annehmen |
| ihr | nehmt an |
| sie/Sie | annehmen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | annehmend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | angenommen |
| Infinitive | annehmen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With annehmen 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 nehme das Angebot der Firma an.” — “I accept the firm's offer.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With annehmen 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 nahmst das Angebot der Firma an.” — “You accepted the firm's offer.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With annehmen it is formed with haben + the past participle angenommen. For example: “Er hat das Angebot der Firma angenommen.” — “He has accepted the firm's offer.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten das Angebot der Firma angenommen.” — “We had accepted the firm's offer.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet das Angebot der Firma annehmen.” — “You will accept the firm's offer.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden das Angebot der Firma angenommen haben.” — “They will have accepted the firm's offer.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich das Angebot der Firma annehme.” — “It is important that I accept the firm's offer.”
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 nähmest das Angebot der Firma an.” — “You would accept the firm's offer if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte das Angebot der Firma angenommen.” — “He would have accepted the firm's offer if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With annehmen 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: “Nimm das Angebot der Firma an!” — “Accept the firm's offer!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is annehmend — “while accepting” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is angenommen, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe angenommen. The infinitive is annehmen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with annehmen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.” — “I accept the firm's offer.”
- “Du nimmst das Angebot der Firma an.” — “You accept the firm's offer.”
- “Er nahm das Angebot der Firma an.” — “He accepted the firm's offer.”
- “Ich habe das Angebot der Firma angenommen.” — “I have accepted the firm's offer.”
- “Er hatte das Angebot der Firma angenommen.” — “He had accepted the firm's offer.”
- “Wir werden das Angebot der Firma annehmen.” — “We will accept the firm's offer.”
- “Ich werde das Angebot der Firma angenommen haben.” — “I will have accepted the firm's offer.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich das Angebot der Firma annehme.” — “It is important that I accept the firm's offer.”
- “Ich nähme das Angebot der Firma an.” — “I would accept the firm's offer if I could.”
- “Nimm das Angebot der Firma an!” — “Accept the firm's offer!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich annehmen das Angebot der Firma.”
✓ Right: “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.”
The infinitive annehmen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form nehme an.
2. Confusing annehmen with absagen
✗ Wrong: “Ich absagen das Angebot der Firma.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.”
annehmen means “to accept”; absagen means “to cancel”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting to split the separable prefix
✗ Wrong: “Ich annehmen das Angebot der Firma.” (prefix left attached to the stem)
✓ Right: “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.”
annehmen is separable: in finite forms the prefix an goes to the end of the clause — nehme an — not next to the stem.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du das Angebot der Firma annimmst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du das Angebot der Firma annehmest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use nehmest an here, not the indicative nimmst an.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe das Angebot der Firma angenommen.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe angenommen), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of annehmen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) nimmt an
- B) nehme an
- C) nimmst an
- D) nehmen an
What is the er/sie/es form of annehmen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) nehmt an
- B) nimmst an
- C) nimmt an
- D) nehme an
What is the ich form of annehmen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) nahmen an
- B) nahmt an
- C) nahmst an
- D) nahm an
What is the ich form of annehmen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe angenommen
- B) hast angenommen
- C) haben angenommen
- D) hat angenommen
What is the wir form of annehmen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatte angenommen
- B) hatten angenommen
- C) hattet angenommen
- D) hattest angenommen
What is the du form of annehmen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird annehmen
- B) wirst annehmen
- C) werde annehmen
- D) werdet annehmen
What is the ich form of annehmen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) werde angenommen haben
- B) wirst angenommen haben
- C) werden angenommen haben
- D) wird angenommen haben
What is the ich form of annehmen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) nähmet an
- B) nähmest an
- C) nähmen an
- D) nähme an
What is the past participle of annehmen?
- A) annehmend
- B) nahm an
- C) angenommen
- D) nehme an
What does annehmen mean in English?
- A) to cancel
- B) to accept
- C) to come
- D) to do
Answer key
- B) nehme an — the ich form of annehmen in the present tense is nehme an.
- C) nimmt an — the er/sie/es form of annehmen in the present tense is nimmt an.
- D) nahm an — the ich form of annehmen in the preterite is nahm an.
- A) habe angenommen — the ich form of annehmen in the Perfekt is habe angenommen.
- B) hatten angenommen — the wir form of annehmen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten angenommen.
- B) wirst annehmen — the du form of annehmen in the Futur I is wirst annehmen.
- A) werde angenommen haben — the ich form of annehmen in the Futur II is werde angenommen haben.
- D) nähme an — the ich form of annehmen in the Konjunktiv II is nähme an.
- C) angenommen — the past participle of annehmen is angenommen; perfect tenses use haben + angenommen.
- B) to accept — annehmen means “to accept” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does annehmen mean in English?
annehmen means “to accept”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.” (“I accept the firm's offer.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is annehmen regular or irregular?
annehmen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is annehmend and the past participle is angenommen.
What are the participles of annehmen?
The present participle is annehmend and the past participle is angenommen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe angenommen.
What is the difference between annehmen and absagen?
annehmen means “to accept”, while absagen means “to cancel”. 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 absagen and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I accept” in German?
Say “Ich nehme das Angebot der Firma an.” — “I accept the firm's offer.” The ich form of the present is nehme an, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn annehmen
Start with the present tense: nehme an, nimmst an, nimmt an, nehmen an, nehmt an, nehmen an. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe angenommen — and the Präteritum — nahm an. Next, learn the future (werde annehmen) and the Konjunktiv II (nähme an), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (nehme an) and the imperative (nimm an). 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
- annehmen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the Perfekt tense.
- annehmen 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 annehmen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise annehmen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.