Ärgern in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Ärgern means “to annoy”, and this page covers exactly one thing: ärgern in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for ärgern, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about ärgern in the present. For example: “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “I annoy my brother every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of ärgern exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Ärgern in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich ärgere
du ärgerst
er/sie/es ärgert
wir ärgern
ihr ärgert
sie/Sie ärgern

Partizip I: ärgernd · Partizip II: geärgert

The present participle is ärgernd, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is geärgert, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe geärgert, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how ärgern is used.

How the Präsens of ärgern is formed

The present of ärgern follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich ärgere, du ärgerst, er/sie/es ärgert, wir ärgern, ihr ärgert, sie/Sie ärgern. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I ärgernd and Partizip II geärgert belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise ärgern in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of ärgern

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use ärgern in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Annoying my brother — the everyday use

Ärgern is the verb for annoying my brother. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “I annoy my brother every day.”

2. Annoying my sister — a second everyday use

Ärgern also covers annoying my sister. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du ärgerst meine Schwester jeden Tag.” — “You annoy my sister every day.”

3. Annoying my friend — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use ärgern for annoying my friend. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er ärgert meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “He annoys my friend every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and ärgern is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir ärgern meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “We annoy my brother every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with ärgern in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr ärgert meine Schwester jeden Tag.” — “You annoy my sister every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “I annoy my brother every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich ärgerte meinen Bruder gestern.” — “I annoyed my brother yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Du ärgerst meine Schwester jeden Tag.” — “You annoy my sister every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du ärgertest meine Schwester gestern.” — “You annoyed my sister yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Wir ärgern meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “We annoy my friend every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir ärgerten meinen Freund gestern.” — “We annoyed my friend yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: ärgern in the Präsens

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Ich ärgere meine Schwester jeden Tag.” — “I annoy my sister every day.”

  2. “Du ärgerst meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “You annoy my friend every day.”

  3. “Er ärgert meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “He annoys my brother every day.”

  4. “Wir ärgern meine Schwester jeden Tag.” — “We annoy my sister every day.”

  5. “Ihr ärgert meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “You annoy my friend every day.”

  6. “Sie ärgern meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “They annoy my brother every day.”

  7. “Ich ärgere meine Schwester jeden Tag.” — “I annoy my sister every day.”

  8. “Du ärgerst meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “You annoy my friend every day.”

Common mistakes with ärgern in the Präsens

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Ich ärgern meinen Bruder.” Right: “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder.” Why: The ich form is ärgere, not ärgern. Ärgern belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir ärgern meinen Bruder.” Right: “Wir ärgern meinen Bruder.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: ärgern, not ärgern. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich ärgern meinen Bruder.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder.” Why: The infinitive ärgern never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form ärgere.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich ärgere meinen Bruder.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich ärgere meinen Bruder.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use ärgere here, not the indicative ärgere.

Quiz: ärgern in the Präsens

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ meine Schwester.”

  • (A) ärgerst
  • (B) ärgert
  • (C) ärgern
  • (D) ärgere

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ meinen Freund.”

  • (A) ärgern
  • (B) ärgerst
  • (C) ärgere
  • (D) ärgert

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ meinen Bruder.”

  • (A) ärgert
  • (B) ärgere
  • (C) ärgerst
  • (D) ärgern

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ meine Schwester.”

  • (A) ärgerst
  • (B) ärgert
  • (C) ärgern
  • (D) ärgere

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ meinen Freund.”

  • (A) ärgert
  • (B) ärgere
  • (C) ärgerst
  • (D) ärgern

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ meinen Bruder.”

  • (A) ärgerst
  • (B) ärgert
  • (C) ärgern
  • (D) ärgere

7. What does ärgern mean in English?

  • (A) to annoy
  • (B) to wait
  • (C) to arrive
  • (D) to depart

8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of ärgern?

  • (A) geärgert
  • (B) gewartet
  • (C) angekommen
  • (D) abgefahren

Answer key

  1. D) ärgere — The ich form is ärgere.
  2. B) ärgerst — The du form is ärgerst.
  3. A) ärgert — The er/sie/es form is ärgert.
  4. C) ärgern — The wir form is ärgern.
  5. A) ärgert — The ihr form is ärgert.
  6. C) ärgern — The sie/Sie form is ärgern.
  7. A) to annoy — ärgern means “to annoy”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. A) geärgert — The past participle of ärgern is geärgert; the Präsens is formed with haben + geärgert.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of ärgern formed?

The present of ärgern is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich ärgere, du ärgerst, er ärgert, wir ärgern, ihr ärgert, sie ärgern.

When do I use the present of ärgern?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” — “I annoy my brother every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of ärgern?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich ärgere meinen Bruder jeden Tag.” with “Ich ärgerte meinen Bruder gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ärgern, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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