Empfangen Perfekt Tense Conjugation in German
The Perfekt of empfangen — “to receive” — is the tense you need for finished actions in the past: what you did yesterday, what happened last week, what has just finished. It is formed with haben in the present + the past participle empfangen, so once you know the participle you can build every person. This page gives you the complete Perfekt table for empfangen, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the Präteritum, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for empfangen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Perfekt Tense conjugation of empfangen
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for empfangen. The Perfekt is a compound tense: haben in the present + the past participle empfangen. The participle never changes in the table below — the tables give the single uninflected participle form, and the auxiliary carries the person.
Perfect (Perfekt) — empfangen
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe empfangen |
| du | hast empfangen |
| er/sie/es | hat empfangen |
| wir | haben empfangen |
| ihr | habt empfangen |
| sie/Sie | haben empfangen |
The present participle of empfangen is empfangend and the past participle is empfangen. You need the participle for the perfect tenses, and the present participle for adjectival use.
How the Perfekt of empfangen is formed
Take the present tense of the auxiliary haben and add the past participle empfangen: ich → habe empfangen, du → hast empfangen, er/sie/es → hat empfangen, wir → haben empfangen, ihr → habt empfangen, sie/Sie → haben empfangen. So empfangen gives habe empfangen, hast empfangen, hat empfangen, haben empfangen, habt empfangen, haben empfangen. empfangen takes haben, the default auxiliary. The past participle stays invariable in the Perfekt: it does not agree with the subject, so empfangen is the same for every person. A note on the participle: empfangen is the only past participle for empfangen in the verified tables. Do not invent a second participle, and do not borrow the participle of a similar verb.
When to use the Perfekt of empfangen
1. A finished event in the past
Use the Perfekt for a finished event in the past. For example, with empfangen: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. Something that has just happened
Use the Perfekt for something that has just happened. For example, with empfangen: “Du hast einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “You have received a letter from my sister.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. A sequence of past events
Use the Perfekt for a sequence of past events. For example, with empfangen: “Er hat einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “He has received a letter from my sister.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Life experience up to now
Use the Perfekt for life experience up to now. For example, with empfangen: “Wir haben einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “We have received a letter from my sister.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. A past event with a definite time
Use the Perfekt for a past event with a definite time. For example, with empfangen: “Ihr habt einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “You have received a letter from my sister.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Perfekt vs Präteritum: empfangen in speech and in writing
The Perfekt and the Präteritum both talk about the past, but they are not interchangeable in register. The Perfekt is the tense of spoken German: what you say in conversation. The Präteritum is the tense of written narration: stories, reports and formal writing. Compare the pairs below — the Perfekt form comes from this page, the Präteritum form from the full conjugation table.
Perfekt (spoken): “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.”
Präteritum (written): “Ich empfing einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I received a letter from my sister.”
Perfekt (spoken): “Du hast einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “You have received a letter from my sister.”
Präteritum (written): “Du empfingst einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “You received a letter from my sister.”
Perfekt (spoken): “Wir haben einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “We have received a letter from my sister.”
Präteritum (written): “Wir empfingen einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “We received a letter from my sister.”
Example sentences: empfangen in the Perfekt
Six sentences using only the Perfekt of empfangen, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.”
- “Du hast einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “You have received a letter from my sister.”
- “Er hat einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “He has received a letter from my sister.”
- “Wir haben einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “We have received a letter from my sister.”
- “Ihr habt einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “You have received a letter from my sister.”
- “Sie haben einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “They have received a letter from my sister.”
Common mistakes with empfangen in the Perfekt
1. Using the wrong auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.”
With empfangen the Perfekt takes haben, not sein. The correct form is habe empfangen.
2. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe empfangen), not the present.
3. Using the Präteritum for a single finished event in speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich empfing einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” (in conversation)
✓ Right: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.”
In spoken German a single finished event yesterday takes the Perfekt. The Präteritum belongs in written narration.
4. Guessing a regular participle
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester geempfangt.” (a guessed regular participle)
✓ Right: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.”
empfangen is a strong verb: its participle is empfangen, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.
Quiz: empfangen in the Perfekt
What is the ich form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben empfangen
- B) hat empfangen
- C) habe empfangen
- D) habt empfangen
What is the du form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe empfangen
- B) hat empfangen
- C) hast empfangen
- D) habt empfangen
What is the er/sie/es form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe empfangen
- B) hat empfangen
- C) habt empfangen
- D) haben empfangen
What is the wir form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe empfangen
- B) habt empfangen
- C) hat empfangen
- D) haben empfangen
What is the ihr form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben empfangen
- B) habe empfangen
- C) hast empfangen
- D) habt empfangen
What is the sie/Sie form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habt empfangen
- B) habe empfangen
- C) haben empfangen
- D) hast empfangen
What is the past participle of empfangen?
- A) empfing
- B) empfangen
- C) empfange
- D) empfangend
Which auxiliary does empfangen take in the Perfekt?
- A) sein
- B) werden
- C) haben
Answer key
- C) habe empfangen — the ich form of empfangen in the Perfekt is habe empfangen.
- C) hast empfangen — the du form of empfangen in the Perfekt is hast empfangen.
- B) hat empfangen — the er/sie/es form of empfangen in the Perfekt is hat empfangen.
- D) haben empfangen — the wir form of empfangen in the Perfekt is haben empfangen.
- D) habt empfangen — the ihr form of empfangen in the Perfekt is habt empfangen.
- C) haben empfangen — the sie/Sie form of empfangen in the Perfekt is haben empfangen.
- B) empfangen — the past participle of empfangen is empfangen; the Perfekt uses haben + empfangen.
- C) haben — empfangen takes haben in the Perfekt: habe empfangen.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Perfekt of empfangen formed?
With haben in the present + the past participle empfangen: ich → habe empfangen, du → hast empfangen, er/sie/es → hat empfangen. The full table is above, and the German Perfekt tense guide explains the pattern for all verbs.
Is empfangen regular in the Perfekt?
Yes — empfangen is regular in the Perfekt: the forms follow the standard pattern. The full picture, including the irregular tenses if any, is on the full conjugation page.
What is the past participle of empfangen?
The past participle is empfangen. Use it with haben for the Perfekt, as in habe empfangen, and with haben in the past for the Plusquamperfekt, as in hatte empfangen.
Related pages
- empfangen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- empfangen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- 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 empfangen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise empfangen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.