Bleiben: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Bleiben means “to stay”, 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 bleiben, 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 bleiben, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause.” — “I stay at home today.”
  2. “Du bleibst eine Woche in Berlin.” — “You stay a week in Berlin.”
  3. “Ich bin bis morgen hier geblieben.” — “I have stayed here until tomorrow.”
  4. “Er blieb heute zu Hause.” — “He stayed at home today.”
  5. “Wir werden eine Woche in Berlin bleiben.” — “We will stay a week in Berlin.”
  6. “Du bist bis morgen hier geblieben.” — “You have stayed here until tomorrow.”
  7. “Ich bliebe heute zu Hause.” — “I would stay at home today.”
  8. “Er bleibe eine Woche in Berlin.” — “He stays a week in Berlin.”
  9. “Wir waren bis morgen hier geblieben.” — “We had stayed here until tomorrow.”
  10. “Er wird heute zu Hause bleiben.” — “He will stay at home today.”
  11. “Sie bleiben eine Woche in Berlin.” — “They stay a week in Berlin.”
  12. “Bleib bis morgen hier!” — “Stay here until tomorrow!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Bleibst du heute zu Hause?” — “You stay at home today?” Jonas: “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause.” — “I stay at home today.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde eine Woche in Berlin bleiben.” — “I will stay a week in Berlin.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich bin bis morgen hier geblieben.” — “I have stayed here until tomorrow.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich bliebe heute zu Hause.” — “I would stay at home today.”

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.

Bleiben in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, bleiben describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is bleibe: “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause.” — “I stay at home today.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, bleiben describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is blieb: “Er blieb eine Woche in Berlin.” — “He stayed a week in Berlin.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, bleiben reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with sein plus the participle geblieben. The ich form is bin geblieben: “Ich bin bis morgen hier geblieben.” — “I have stayed here until tomorrow.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, bleiben talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden bleiben: “Wir werden heute zu Hause bleiben.” — “We will stay at home today.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, bleiben talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is bliebest: “Du bliebest eine Woche in Berlin.” — “You would stay a week in Berlin.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, bleiben appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is bleibe: “Er bleibe bis morgen hier.” — “He stays here until tomorrow.” 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 bleiben heute zu Hause.”

✓ Right: “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause.”

The infinitive bleiben never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form bleibe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du bleibe heute zu Hause.”

✓ Right: “Du bleibst heute zu Hause.”

bleibe is the ich form. With du you need bleibst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin heute zu Hause geblieben.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich bleibe heute zu Hause.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geblieben heute zu Hause.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin heute zu Hause geblieben.”

The Perfekt of bleiben needs the auxiliary sein plus the participle geblieben: the full ich form is bin geblieben.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) bleiben
    • B) bleibe
    • C) bleibst
    • D) bleibt

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

    • A) bleibe
    • B) bleibt
    • C) bleiben
    • D) bleibst

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

    • A) bin geblieben
    • B) bist geblieben
    • C) sind geblieben
    • D) ist geblieben

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

    • A) blieb
    • B) bliebst
    • C) bliebt
    • D) blieben

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

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

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

    • A) bliebet
    • B) bliebe
    • C) bliebest
    • D) blieben

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

    • A) bleibet
    • B) bleibe
    • C) bleibest
    • D) bleiben

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

    • A) wart geblieben
    • B) war geblieben
    • C) warst geblieben
    • D) waren geblieben

  9. What is the past participle of bleiben?

    • A) gelegen
    • B) geheißen
    • C) gedacht
    • D) geblieben

  10. What does bleiben mean in English?

  • A) to stay
  • B) to lie
  • C) to be called
  • D) to think

Answer key

  1. B) bleibe — the ich form of bleiben in the Present (Präsens) is bleibe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) bleibst — the du form of bleiben in the Present (Präsens) is bleibst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ist geblieben — the er/sie/es form of bleiben in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist geblieben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) blieben — the wir form of bleiben in the Preterite (Präteritum) is blieben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) wirst bleiben — the du form of bleiben in the Future (Futur I) is wirst bleiben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) bliebe — the ich form of bleiben in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is bliebe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) bleibe — the er/sie/es form of bleiben in the Konjunktiv I is bleibe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) war geblieben — the ich form of bleiben in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war geblieben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) geblieben — the past participle of bleiben is geblieben. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to stay — bleiben means “to stay” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does bleiben mean in English?

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

Is bleiben regular or irregular?

bleiben is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is bleibend and the past participle is geblieben.

How do I practise bleiben every day?

Say one sentence with bleiben 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 bleibe heute zu Hause.”, “Ich bin heute zu Hause geblieben.” and “Ich werde heute zu Hause bleiben.”. 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 bleiben, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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