Bestellen Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
How do you actually use bestellen — “to order” — in a real sentence? This page shows you: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue, the mistakes learners make most often with this verb, and a quiz to test yourself. Every German form on this page comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for bestellen. Start with the simplest sentence: “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “I order a pizza in the restaurant.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for bestellen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Bestellen in real sentences
Twelve sentences with bestellen, covering the present, the Präteritum, the Perfekt, the Plusquamperfekt, the future, Konjunktiv I and II, and the imperative. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “I order a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Du bestellst eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “You order a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Er bestellt eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “He orders a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Ich bestellte eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “I ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Wir bestellten eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “We ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Ich habe eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.” — “I have ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Du hast eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.” — “You have ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Ich hatte eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.” — “I had ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Wir werden eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellen.” — “We will order a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Ich werde eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt haben.” — “I will have ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich eine Pizza im Restaurant bestelle.” — “It is important that I order a pizza in the restaurant.”
- “Ich bestellte eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “I would order a pizza in the restaurant if I could.”
- “Ich hätte eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.” — “I would have ordered a pizza in the restaurant if I had been able to.”
- “Bestell eine Pizza im Restaurant!” — “Order a pizza in the restaurant!”
A short dialogue with bestellen
Anna and Ben talk about their plans. Every form of bestellen in the dialogue comes from the verified tables — read it aloud, changing the person each time.
Anna: “Du bestellst eine Pizza im Restaurant?” — “You order a pizza in the restaurant?”
Ben: “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “I order a pizza in the restaurant.”
Anna: “Du hast eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt?” — “You have ordered a pizza in the restaurant?”
Ben: “Ich habe eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.” — “I have ordered a pizza in the restaurant.”
Anna: “Du wirst eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellen?” — “You will order a pizza in the restaurant?”
Ben: “Ich werde eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellen.” — “I will order a pizza in the restaurant.”
Anna: “Bestell eine Pizza im Restaurant!” — “Order a pizza in the restaurant!”
Ben: “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.” — “I order a pizza in the restaurant.”
Notice how the verb changes with the person and the tense while the meaning stays the same: bestelle, bestellst, habe bestellt, werde bestellen. If you can follow this dialogue without looking at the tables, you know bestellen well enough to use it.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich bestellen eine Pizza im Restaurant.”
✓ Right: “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.”
The infinitive bestellen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form bestelle.
2. Confusing bestellen with servieren
✗ Wrong: “Ich servieren eine Pizza im Restaurant.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.”
bestellen means “to order”; servieren means “to serve”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to bestellen
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe eine Pizza im Restaurant gebestellt.” (a guessed regular participle)
✓ Right: “Ich habe eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.”
bestellen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Its past participle is bestellt, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use bestellest here, not the indicative bestellst.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of bestellen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) bestellen
- B) bestellt
- C) bestellst
- D) bestelle
What is the er/sie/es form of bestellen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) bestellen
- B) bestellt
- C) bestelle
- D) bestellst
What is the du form of bestellen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) bestellte
- B) bestellten
- C) bestelltest
- D) bestelltet
What is the wir form of bestellen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat bestellt
- B) haben bestellt
- C) hast bestellt
- D) habe bestellt
What is the ich form of bestellen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst bestellen
- B) wird bestellen
- C) werde bestellen
- D) werdet bestellen
What is the du form of bestellen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) bestellten
- B) bestelltest
- C) bestelltet
- D) bestellte
What is the ich form of bestellen in the Conditional perfect?
- A) hättest bestellt
- B) hätten bestellt
- C) hättet bestellt
- D) hätte bestellt
What is the past participle of bestellen?
- A) bestellte
- B) bestellt
- C) bestelle
- D) bestellend
What is the present participle of bestellen?
- A) bestellend
- B) werde bestellen
- C) bestellt
- D) bestelle
What does bestellen mean in English?
- A) to come
- B) to serve
- C) to do
- D) to order
Answer key
- D) bestelle — the ich form of bestellen in the present tense is bestelle.
- B) bestellt — the er/sie/es form of bestellen in the present tense is bestellt.
- C) bestelltest — the du form of bestellen in the preterite is bestelltest.
- B) haben bestellt — the wir form of bestellen in the Perfekt is haben bestellt.
- C) werde bestellen — the ich form of bestellen in the Futur I is werde bestellen.
- B) bestelltest — the du form of bestellen in the Konjunktiv II is bestelltest.
- D) hätte bestellt — the ich form of bestellen in the conditional perfect is hätte bestellt.
- B) bestellt — the past participle of bestellen is bestellt; perfect tenses use haben + bestellt.
- A) bestellend — the present participle of bestellen is bestellend.
- D) to order — bestellen means “to order” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does bestellen mean in English?
bestellen means “to order”. The examples above show it in everyday situations — for example, “Ich bestelle eine Pizza im Restaurant.” (“I order a pizza in the restaurant.”).
Is bestellen regular or irregular?
bestellen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The full tables are on the conjugation page.
How do I use bestellen in the Perfekt?
Use haben + the past participle bestellt: “Ich habe eine Pizza im Restaurant bestellt.” — “I have ordered a pizza in the restaurant.” The full Perfekt table is on the conjugation page.
Related pages
- bestellen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- bestellen in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in one tense.
- 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 bestellen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise bestellen with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.