Antworten: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Antworten means “to answer”, 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 antworten, 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 antworten, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich antworte auf die Frage.” — “I answer the question.”
  2. “Du antwortest meinem Lehrer sofort.” — “You answer my teacher immediately.”
  3. “Ich habe mit einem Lächeln geantwortet.” — “I have answered with a smile.”
  4. “Er antwortete auf die Frage.” — “He answered the question.”
  5. “Wir werden meinem Lehrer sofort antworten.” — “We will answer my teacher immediately.”
  6. “Du hast mit einem Lächeln geantwortet.” — “You have answered with a smile.”
  7. “Ich antwortete auf die Frage.” — “I would answer the question.”
  8. “Er antworte meinem Lehrer sofort.” — “He answers my teacher immediately.”
  9. “Wir hatten mit einem Lächeln geantwortet.” — “We had answered with a smile.”
  10. “Er wird auf die Frage antworten.” — “He will answer the question.”
  11. “Sie antworten meinem Lehrer sofort.” — “They answer my teacher immediately.”
  12. “Antworte mit einem Lächeln!” — “Answer with a smile!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about the question. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how antworten changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of antworten below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Antwortest du auf die Frage?” — “You answer the question?” Jonas: “Ich antworte auf die Frage.” — “I answer the question.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde meinem Lehrer sofort antworten.” — “I will answer my teacher immediately.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe mit einem Lächeln geantwortet.” — “I have answered with a smile.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich antwortete auf die Frage.” — “I would answer the question.”

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.

Antworten in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, antworten describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is antworte: “Ich antworte auf die Frage.” — “I answer the question.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, antworten describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is antwortete: “Er antwortete meinem Lehrer sofort.” — “He answered my teacher immediately.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, antworten reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle geantwortet. The ich form is habe geantwortet: “Ich habe mit einem Lächeln geantwortet.” — “I have answered with a smile.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, antworten talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden antworten: “Wir werden auf die Frage antworten.” — “We will answer the question.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, antworten talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is antwortetest: “Du antwortetest meinem Lehrer sofort.” — “You would answer my teacher immediately.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, antworten appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is antworte: “Er antworte mit einem Lächeln.” — “He answers with a smile.” 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 antworten auf die Frage.”

✓ Right: “Ich antworte auf die Frage.”

The infinitive antworten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form antworte.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du antworte auf die Frage.”

✓ Right: “Du antwortest auf die Frage.”

antworte is the ich form. With du you need antwortest. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich antworte auf die Frage gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe auf die Frage geantwortet.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich antworte auf die Frage.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich antworte auf die Frage.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geantwortet auf die Frage.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe auf die Frage geantwortet.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) antworte
    • B) antwortest
    • C) antwortet
    • D) antworten

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

    • A) antworten
    • B) antwortest
    • C) antworte
    • D) antwortet

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

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

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

    • A) antwortetet
    • B) antworteten
    • C) antwortete
    • D) antwortetest

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

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

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

    • A) antwortetest
    • B) antworteten
    • C) antwortetet
    • D) antwortete

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

    • A) antworte
    • B) antwortest
    • C) antworten
    • D) antwortet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of antworten?

    • A) geantwortet
    • B) geholfen
    • C) gelernt
    • D) studiert

  10. What does antworten mean in English?

  • A) to study
  • B) to answer
  • C) to help
  • D) to learn

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does antworten mean in English?

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

Is antworten regular or irregular?

antworten is regular in every tense. The present participle is antwortend and the past participle is geantwortet.

How do I practise antworten every day?

Say one sentence with antworten 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 antworte auf die Frage.”, “Ich habe auf die Frage geantwortet.” and “Ich werde auf die Frage antworten.”. 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 antworten, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages