Arbeiten: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Arbeiten means “to work”, 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 arbeiten, 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 arbeiten, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich arbeite in Berlin.” — “I work in Berlin.”
  2. “Du arbeitest jeden Tag im Büro.” — “You work in an office every day.”
  3. “Ich habe heute bis spät gearbeitet.” — “I have worked until late today.”
  4. “Er arbeitete in Berlin.” — “He worked in Berlin.”
  5. “Wir werden jeden Tag im Büro arbeiten.” — “We will work in an office every day.”
  6. “Du hast heute bis spät gearbeitet.” — “You have worked until late today.”
  7. “Ich arbeitete in Berlin.” — “I would work in Berlin.”
  8. “Er arbeite jeden Tag im Büro.” — “He works in an office every day.”
  9. “Wir hatten heute bis spät gearbeitet.” — “We had worked until late today.”
  10. “Er wird in Berlin arbeiten.” — “He will work in Berlin.”
  11. “Sie arbeiten jeden Tag im Büro.” — “They work in an office every day.”
  12. “Arbeite heute bis spät!” — “Work until late today!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Arbeitest du in Berlin?” — “You work in Berlin?” Jonas: “Ich arbeite in Berlin.” — “I work in Berlin.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde jeden Tag im Büro arbeiten.” — “I will work in an office every day.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe heute bis spät gearbeitet.” — “I have worked until late today.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich arbeitete in Berlin.” — “I would work in Berlin.”

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.

Arbeiten in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, arbeiten describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is arbeite: “Ich arbeite in Berlin.” — “I work in Berlin.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, arbeiten describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is arbeitete: “Er arbeitete jeden Tag im Büro.” — “He worked in an office every day.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, arbeiten reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gearbeitet. The ich form is habe gearbeitet: “Ich habe heute bis spät gearbeitet.” — “I have worked until late today.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, arbeiten talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden arbeiten: “Wir werden in Berlin arbeiten.” — “We will work in Berlin.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, arbeiten talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is arbeitetest: “Du arbeitetest jeden Tag im Büro.” — “You would work in an office every day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, arbeiten appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is arbeite: “Er arbeite heute bis spät.” — “He works until late today.” 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 arbeiten in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich arbeite in Berlin.”

The infinitive arbeiten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form arbeite.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du arbeite in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Du arbeitest in Berlin.”

arbeite is the ich form. With du you need arbeitest. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich arbeite in Berlin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe in Berlin gearbeitet.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich arbeite in Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich arbeite in Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gearbeitet in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe in Berlin gearbeitet.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) arbeite
    • B) arbeitest
    • C) arbeitet
    • D) arbeiten

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

    • A) arbeiten
    • B) arbeitest
    • C) arbeite
    • D) arbeitet

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

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

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

    • A) arbeitetet
    • B) arbeiteten
    • C) arbeitete
    • D) arbeitetest

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

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

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

    • A) arbeitetest
    • B) arbeiteten
    • C) arbeitetet
    • D) arbeitete

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

    • A) arbeite
    • B) arbeitest
    • C) arbeiten
    • D) arbeitet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of arbeiten?

    • A) gearbeitet
    • B) gespielt
    • C) gehört
    • D) gefühlt

  10. What does arbeiten mean in English?

  • A) to hear
  • B) to feel
  • C) to work
  • D) to play

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does arbeiten mean in English?

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

Is arbeiten regular or irregular?

arbeiten is regular in every tense. The present participle is arbeitend and the past participle is gearbeitet.

How do I practise arbeiten every day?

Say one sentence with arbeiten 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 arbeite in Berlin.”, “Ich habe in Berlin gearbeitet.” and “Ich werde in Berlin arbeiten.”. 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 arbeiten, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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