Entscheiden: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Entscheiden means “to decide”, 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 entscheiden, 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 entscheiden, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.”
  2. “Du entscheidest mich für das Buch jeden Tag.” — “You decide on the book every day.”
  3. “Ich habe mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “I have decided on the film yesterday.”
  4. “Er entschied mich für den Zug gestern.” — “He decided on the train yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden mich für das Buch entscheiden morgen.” — “We will decide on the book tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “You have decided on the film yesterday.”
  7. “Ich entschiede mich für den Zug eines Tages.” — “I would decide on the train one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er entscheide mich für das Buch.” — “It is important that he decide on the book.”
  9. “Wir hatten mich für den Film entschieden vor der Party.” — “We had decided on the film before the party.”
  10. “Er wird mich für den Zug entscheiden morgen.” — “He will decide on the train tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie entscheiden mich für das Buch jeden Tag.” — “They decide on the book every day.”
  12. “Entscheide mich für den Film!” — “Decide on the film!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du entscheidest mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “You decide on the train every day.” Jonas: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.” Lena: “Du wirst mich für das Buch entscheiden morgen.” — “You will decide on the book tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde mich für das Buch entscheiden morgen.” — “I will decide on the book tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “You have decided on the film yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “I have decided on the film yesterday.” Lena: “Du entschiedest mich für den Zug eines Tages.” — “You would decide on the train one day.” Jonas: “Ich entschiede mich für den Zug eines Tages.” — “I would decide on the train 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.

Entscheiden in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, entscheiden describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is entscheide: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, entscheiden describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is entschied: “Er entschied mich für das Buch gestern.” — “He decided on the book yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, entscheiden reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle entschieden. The ich form is habe entschieden: “Ich habe mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “I have decided on the film yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, entscheiden talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden entscheiden: “Wir werden mich für den Zug entscheiden morgen.” — “We will decide on the train tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, entscheiden 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 entschiedest: “Du entschiedest mich für das Buch eines Tages.” — “You would decide on the book one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, entscheiden appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is entscheide, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich entscheide mich für den Film.” — “It is important that I decide on the film.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich entscheiden mich für den Zug.”

✓ Right: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug.”

The infinitive entscheiden never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form entscheide.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du entscheide mich für den Zug.”

✓ Right: “Du entscheidest mich für den Zug.”

entscheide is the ich form. With du you need entscheidest. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mich für den Zug entschieden gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du entscheidest mich für das Buch.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du entscheidest mich für das Buch.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich entschieden mich für den Zug.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mich für den Zug entschieden.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) entscheide
    • B) entscheidest
    • C) entscheidet
    • D) entscheiden

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

    • A) entscheiden
    • B) entscheidest
    • C) entscheide
    • D) entscheidet

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

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

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

    • A) entschiedest
    • B) entschiedet
    • C) entschieden
    • D) entschied

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

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

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

    • A) entschiede
    • B) entschiedest
    • C) entschieden
    • D) entschiedet

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

    • A) entscheide
    • B) entscheidest
    • C) entscheiden
    • D) entscheidet

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

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

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

    • A) versucht
    • B) probiert
    • C) entschieden
    • D) gewählt

  10. What does entscheiden mean in English?

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does entscheiden mean in English?

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

Is entscheiden regular or irregular?

entscheiden is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is entscheidend and Partizip II is entschieden.

How do I practise entscheiden every day?

Say one sentence with entscheiden 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 entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe mich für den Zug entschieden gestern.” and “Ich werde mich für den Zug entscheiden 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 entscheiden, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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