Enden: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Enden means “to end”, 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 enden, 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 enden, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich ende um acht Uhr jeden Tag.” — “I end at eight o'clock every day.”
  2. “Du endest mit einem Lied jeden Tag.” — “You end with a song every day.”
  3. “Ich habe pünktlich am Abend geendet gestern.” — “I have ended on time in the evening yesterday.”
  4. “Er endete um acht Uhr gestern.” — “He ended at eight o'clock yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden mit einem Lied enden morgen.” — “We will end with a song tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast pünktlich am Abend geendet gestern.” — “You have ended on time in the evening yesterday.”
  7. “Ich endete um acht Uhr eines Tages.” — “I would end at eight o'clock one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er ende mit einem Lied.” — “It is important that he end with a song.”
  9. “Wir hatten pünktlich am Abend geendet vor der Party.” — “We had ended on time in the evening before the party.”
  10. “Er wird um acht Uhr enden morgen.” — “He will end at eight o'clock tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie enden mit einem Lied jeden Tag.” — “They end with a song every day.”
  12. “Ende pünktlich am Abend!” — “End on time in the evening!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du endest um acht Uhr jeden Tag.” — “You end at eight o'clock every day.” Jonas: “Ich ende um acht Uhr jeden Tag.” — “I end at eight o'clock every day.” Lena: “Du wirst mit einem Lied enden morgen.” — “You will end with a song tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde mit einem Lied enden morgen.” — “I will end with a song tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast pünktlich am Abend geendet gestern.” — “You have ended on time in the evening yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe pünktlich am Abend geendet gestern.” — “I have ended on time in the evening yesterday.” Lena: “Du endetest um acht Uhr eines Tages.” — “You would end at eight o'clock one day.” Jonas: “Ich endete um acht Uhr eines Tages.” — “I would end at eight o'clock one day.”

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.

Enden in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, enden describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is ende: “Ich ende um acht Uhr jeden Tag.” — “I end at eight o'clock every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, enden describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is endete: “Er endete mit einem Lied gestern.” — “He ended with a song yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, enden reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geendet. The ich form is habe geendet: “Ich habe pünktlich am Abend geendet gestern.” — “I have ended on time in the evening yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, enden talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden enden: “Wir werden um acht Uhr enden morgen.” — “We will end at eight o'clock tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, enden talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is endetest: “Du endetest mit einem Lied eines Tages.” — “You would end with a song one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, enden appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is ende, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich ende pünktlich am Abend.” — “It is important that I end on time in the evening.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich enden um acht Uhr.”

✓ Right: “Ich ende um acht Uhr.”

The infinitive enden never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form ende.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du ende um acht Uhr.”

✓ Right: “Du endest um acht Uhr.”

ende is the ich form. With du you need endest. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich ende um acht Uhr gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe um acht Uhr geendet gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du endest mit einem Lied.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du endest mit einem Lied.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: endest, not the indicative endest.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geendet um acht Uhr.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe um acht Uhr geendet.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ende
    • B) endest
    • C) endet
    • D) enden

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

    • A) enden
    • B) endest
    • C) ende
    • D) endet

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

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

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

    • A) endetet
    • B) endeten
    • C) endete
    • D) endetest

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of enden in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) endetest
    • B) endeten
    • C) endetet
    • D) endete

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

    • A) ende
    • B) endest
    • C) enden
    • D) endet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of enden?

    • A) geendet
    • B) geöffnet
    • C) geschlossen
    • D) gelaufen

  10. What does enden mean in English?

  • A) to close
  • B) to run
  • C) to end
  • D) to open

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does enden mean in English?

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

Is enden regular or irregular?

enden is regular in every tense. Partizip I is endend and Partizip II is geendet.

How do I practise enden every day?

Say one sentence with enden 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 ende um acht Uhr jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe um acht Uhr geendet gestern.” and “Ich werde um acht Uhr enden morgen.”. 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 enden, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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