Denken: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Denken means “to think”, 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 denken, 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 denken, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I think about my friends in Berlin.”
  2. “Du denkst jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “You think about the future every day.”
  3. “Ich habe oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “I have thought often about school.”
  4. “Er dachte an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “He thought about my friends in Berlin.”
  5. “Wir werden jeden Tag an die Zukunft denken.” — “We will think about the future every day.”
  6. “Du hast oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “You have thought often about school.”
  7. “Ich dächte an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I would think about my friends in Berlin.”
  8. “Er denke jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “He thinks about the future every day.”
  9. “Wir hatten oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “We had thought often about school.”
  10. “Er wird an meine Freunde in Berlin denken.” — “He will think about my friends in Berlin.”
  11. “Sie denken jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “They think about the future every day.”
  12. “Denk oft an die Schule!” — “Think often about school!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Denkst du an meine Freunde in Berlin?” — “You think about my friends in Berlin?” Jonas: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I think about my friends in Berlin.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde jeden Tag an die Zukunft denken.” — “I will think about the future every day.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “I have thought often about school.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich dächte an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I would think about my friends 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.

Denken in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, denken describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is denke: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I think about my friends in Berlin.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, denken describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is dachte: “Er dachte jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “He thought about the future every day.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, denken reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gedacht. The ich form is habe gedacht: “Ich habe oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “I have thought often about school.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, denken talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden denken: “Wir werden an meine Freunde in Berlin denken.” — “We will think about my friends in Berlin.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, denken talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is dächtest: “Du dächtest jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “You would think about the future every day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, denken appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is denke: “Er denke oft an die Schule.” — “He thinks often about school.” 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 denken an meine Freunde in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.”

The infinitive denken never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form denke.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Du denkst an meine Freunde in Berlin.”

denke is the ich form. With du you need denkst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gedacht an meine Freunde in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) denken
    • B) denke
    • C) denkst
    • D) denkt

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

    • A) denke
    • B) denkt
    • C) denken
    • D) denkst

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

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

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

    • A) dachtet
    • B) dachten
    • C) dachte
    • D) dachtest

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

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

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

    • A) dächte
    • B) dächtest
    • C) dächten
    • D) dächtet

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

    • A) denket
    • B) denke
    • C) denkest
    • D) denken

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of denken?

    • A) gedacht
    • B) gesprochen
    • C) gelebt
    • D) gefahren

  10. What does denken mean in English?

  • A) to speak
  • B) to live
  • C) to drive
  • D) to think

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does denken mean in English?

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

Is denken regular or irregular?

denken is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is denkend and the past participle is gedacht.

How do I practise denken every day?

Say one sentence with denken 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 denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.”, “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.” and “Ich werde an meine Freunde in Berlin denken.”. 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 denken, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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