Anziehen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Anziehen means “to put on”, 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 anziehen, 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 anziehen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich ziehe meine Jacke an jeden Tag.” — “I put on my jacket every day.”
  2. “Du ziehst den Mantel an jeden Tag.” — “You put on the coat every day.”
  3. “Ich habe meine Schuhe angezogen gestern.” — “I have put on my shoes yesterday.”
  4. “Er zog meine Jacke an gestern.” — “He put on my jacket yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden den Mantel anziehen morgen.” — “We will put on the coat tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast meine Schuhe angezogen gestern.” — “You have put on my shoes yesterday.”
  7. “Ich zöge meine Jacke an eines Tages.” — “I would put on my jacket one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er anziehe den Mantel.” — “It is important that he put on the coat.”
  9. “Wir hatten meine Schuhe angezogen vor der Party.” — “We had put on my shoes before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meine Jacke anziehen morgen.” — “He will put on my jacket tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie ziehen den Mantel an jeden Tag.” — “They put on the coat every day.”
  12. “Zieh meine Schuhe an!” — “Put on my shoes!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du ziehst meine Jacke an jeden Tag.” — “You put on my jacket every day.” Jonas: “Ich ziehe meine Jacke an jeden Tag.” — “I put on my jacket every day.” Lena: “Du wirst den Mantel anziehen morgen.” — “You will put on the coat tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde den Mantel anziehen morgen.” — “I will put on the coat tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast meine Schuhe angezogen gestern.” — “You have put on my shoes yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe meine Schuhe angezogen gestern.” — “I have put on my shoes yesterday.” Lena: “Du zögest meine Jacke an eines Tages.” — “You would put on my jacket one day.” Jonas: “Ich zöge meine Jacke an eines Tages.” — “I would put on my jacket one day.”

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.

Anziehen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, anziehen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is ziehe an: “Ich ziehe meine Jacke an jeden Tag.” — “I put on my jacket every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, anziehen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is zog an: “Er zog den Mantel an gestern.” — “He put on the coat yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, anziehen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle angezogen. The ich form is habe angezogen: “Ich habe meine Schuhe angezogen gestern.” — “I have put on my shoes yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, anziehen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden anziehen: “Wir werden meine Jacke anziehen morgen.” — “We will put on my jacket tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, anziehen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is zögest an: “Du zögest den Mantel an eines Tages.” — “You would put on the coat one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, anziehen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is anziehe, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich anziehe meine Schuhe.” — “It is important that I put on my shoes.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich anziehen meine Jacke.”

✓ Right: “Ich ziehe an meine Jacke.”

The infinitive anziehen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form ziehe an.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du ziehe an meine Jacke.”

✓ Right: “Du ziehst an meine Jacke.”

ziehe an is the ich form. With du you need ziehst an. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich ziehe an meine Jacke gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Jacke angezogen gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du ziehst an den Mantel.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du anziehest den Mantel.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: anziehest, not the indicative ziehst an.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich angezogen meine Jacke.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Jacke angezogen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ziehe an
    • B) ziehst an
    • C) zieht an
    • D) ziehen an

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

    • A) zieht an
    • B) ziehen an
    • C) ziehst an
    • D) ziehe an

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

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

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

    • A) zogst an
    • B) zogt an
    • C) zogen an
    • D) zog an

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of anziehen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) zöget an
    • B) zöge an
    • C) zögest an
    • D) zögen an

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

    • A) ziehe an
    • B) ziehest an
    • C) ziehen an
    • D) ziehet an

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

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

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of anziehen?

    • A) aufgewacht
    • B) eingeschlafen
    • C) angezogen
    • D) ausgezogen

  10. What does anziehen mean in English?

  • A) to take off
  • B) to wake up
  • C) to fall asleep
  • D) to put on

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does anziehen mean in English?

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

Is anziehen regular or irregular?

anziehen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is anziehend and Partizip II is angezogen.

How do I practise anziehen every day?

Say one sentence with anziehen 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 ziehe meine Jacke an jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meine Jacke angezogen gestern.” and “Ich werde meine Jacke anziehen morgen.”. 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 anziehen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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