Diskutieren in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Diskutieren means “to discuss”, and this page covers exactly one thing: diskutieren 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 diskutieren, 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 diskutieren in the present. For example: “Ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “I discuss the topic with my friends every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of diskutieren exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Diskutieren in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich diskutiere
du diskutierst
er/sie/es diskutiert
wir diskutieren
ihr diskutiert
sie/Sie diskutieren

Partizip I: diskutierend · Partizip II: diskutiert

The present participle is diskutierend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is diskutiert, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe diskutiert, 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 diskutieren is used.

How the Präsens of diskutieren is formed

The present of diskutieren follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich diskutiere, du diskutierst, er/sie/es diskutiert, wir diskutieren, ihr diskutiert, sie/Sie diskutieren. 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 diskutierend and Partizip II diskutiert belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise diskutieren in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of diskutieren

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

1. Discussing the topic with my friends — the everyday use

Diskutieren is the verb for discussing the topic with my friends. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “I discuss the topic with my friends every day.”

2. Discussing the question with my family — a second everyday use

Diskutieren also covers discussing the question with my family. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du diskutierst die Frage mit meiner Familie jeden Tag.” — “You discuss the question with my family every day.”

3. Discussing the plan with my brother — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use diskutieren for discussing the plan with my brother. 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 diskutiert den Plan mit meinem Bruder jeden Tag.” — “He discusses the plan with my brother 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 diskutieren is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir diskutieren das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “We discuss the topic with my friends 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 diskutieren 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 diskutiert die Frage mit meiner Familie jeden Tag.” — “You discuss the question with my family 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 diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “I discuss the topic with my friends every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich diskutierte das Thema mit meinen Freunden gestern.” — “I discussed the topic with my friends 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 diskutierst die Frage mit meiner Familie jeden Tag.” — “You discuss the question with my family every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du diskutiertest die Frage mit meiner Familie gestern.” — “You discussed the question with my family 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 diskutieren den Plan mit meinem Bruder jeden Tag.” — “We discuss the plan with my brother every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir diskutierten den Plan mit meinem Bruder gestern.” — “We discussed the plan with 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.

Example sentences: diskutieren 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 diskutiere die Frage mit meiner Familie jeden Tag.” — “I discuss the question with my family every day.”

  2. “Du diskutierst den Plan mit meinem Bruder jeden Tag.” — “You discuss the plan with my brother every day.”

  3. “Er diskutiert das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “He discusses the topic with my friends every day.”

  4. “Wir diskutieren die Frage mit meiner Familie jeden Tag.” — “We discuss the question with my family every day.”

  5. “Ihr diskutiert den Plan mit meinem Bruder jeden Tag.” — “You discuss the plan with my brother every day.”

  6. “Sie diskutieren das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “They discuss the topic with my friends every day.”

  7. “Ich diskutiere die Frage mit meiner Familie jeden Tag.” — “I discuss the question with my family every day.”

  8. “Du diskutierst den Plan mit meinem Bruder jeden Tag.” — “You discuss the plan with my brother every day.”

Common mistakes with diskutieren 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 diskutieren das Thema mit meinen Freunden.” Right: “Ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden.” Why: The ich form is diskutiere, not diskutieren. Diskutieren belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

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

  • Wrong: “Ich diskutieren das Thema mit meinen Freunden.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden.” Why: The infinitive diskutieren never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form diskutiere.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use diskutiere here, not the indicative diskutiere.

Quiz: diskutieren 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 ______ die Frage mit meiner Familie.”

  • (A) diskutierst
  • (B) diskutiert
  • (C) diskutieren
  • (D) diskutiere

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ den Plan mit meinem Bruder.”

  • (A) diskutieren
  • (B) diskutierst
  • (C) diskutiere
  • (D) diskutiert

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ das Thema mit meinen Freunden.”

  • (A) diskutiert
  • (B) diskutiere
  • (C) diskutierst
  • (D) diskutieren

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ die Frage mit meiner Familie.”

  • (A) diskutiert
  • (B) diskutieren
  • (C) diskutiere
  • (D) diskutierst

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ den Plan mit meinem Bruder.”

  • (A) diskutiert
  • (B) diskutiere
  • (C) diskutierst
  • (D) diskutieren

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ das Thema mit meinen Freunden.”

  • (A) diskutiert
  • (B) diskutieren
  • (C) diskutiere
  • (D) diskutierst

7. What does diskutieren mean in English?

  • (A) to decide
  • (B) to vote, to choose
  • (C) to try
  • (D) to discuss

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

  • (A) diskutiert
  • (B) entschieden
  • (C) gewählt
  • (D) versucht

Answer key

  1. D) diskutiere — The ich form is diskutiere.
  2. B) diskutierst — The du form is diskutierst.
  3. A) diskutiert — The er/sie/es form is diskutiert.
  4. B) diskutieren — The wir form is diskutieren.
  5. A) diskutiert — The ihr form is diskutiert.
  6. B) diskutieren — The sie/Sie form is diskutieren.
  7. D) to discuss — diskutieren means “to discuss”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. A) diskutiert — The past participle of diskutieren is diskutiert; the Präsens is formed with haben + diskutiert.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of diskutieren formed?

The present of diskutieren is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich diskutiere, du diskutierst, er diskutiert, wir diskutieren, ihr diskutiert, sie diskutieren.

When do I use the present of diskutieren?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “I discuss the topic with my friends every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

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

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich diskutiere das Thema mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” with “Ich diskutierte das Thema mit meinen Freunden 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 diskutieren, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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