Erinnern: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Erinnern means “to remember”, 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 erinnern, 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 erinnern, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin jeden Tag.” — “I remember my friend of the appointment every day.”
  2. “Du erinnerst meine Schwester an die Party jeden Tag.” — “You remember my sister of the party every day.”
  3. “Ich habe meinen Bruder an das Treffen geerinnert gestern.” — “I have remembered my brother of the meeting yesterday.”
  4. “Er erinnerte meinen Freund an den Termin gestern.” — “He remembered my friend of the appointment yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden meine Schwester an die Party erinnern morgen.” — “We will remember my sister of the party tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast meinen Bruder an das Treffen geerinnert gestern.” — “You have remembered my brother of the meeting yesterday.”
  7. “Ich erinnerte meinen Freund an den Termin eines Tages.” — “I would remember my friend of the appointment one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er erinnere meine Schwester an die Party.” — “It is important that he remember my sister of the party.”
  9. “Wir hatten meinen Bruder an das Treffen geerinnert vor der Party.” — “We had remembered my brother of the meeting before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meinen Freund an den Termin erinnern morgen.” — “He will remember my friend of the appointment tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie erinnern meine Schwester an die Party jeden Tag.” — “They remember my sister of the party every day.”
  12. “Erinner meinen Bruder an das Treffen!” — “Remember my brother of the meeting!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du erinnerst meinen Freund an den Termin jeden Tag.” — “You remember my friend of the appointment every day.” Jonas: “Ich erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin jeden Tag.” — “I remember my friend of the appointment every day.” Lena: “Du wirst meine Schwester an die Party erinnern morgen.” — “You will remember my sister of the party tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde meine Schwester an die Party erinnern morgen.” — “I will remember my sister of the party tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast meinen Bruder an das Treffen geerinnert gestern.” — “You have remembered my brother of the meeting yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe meinen Bruder an das Treffen geerinnert gestern.” — “I have remembered my brother of the meeting yesterday.” Lena: “Du erinnertest meinen Freund an den Termin eines Tages.” — “You would remember my friend of the appointment one day.” Jonas: “Ich erinnerte meinen Freund an den Termin eines Tages.” — “I would remember my friend of the appointment 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.

Erinnern in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, erinnern describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is erinnere: “Ich erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin jeden Tag.” — “I remember my friend of the appointment every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, erinnern describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is erinnerte: “Er erinnerte meine Schwester an die Party gestern.” — “He remembered my sister of the party yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, erinnern reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geerinnert. The ich form is habe geerinnert: “Ich habe meinen Bruder an das Treffen geerinnert gestern.” — “I have remembered my brother of the meeting yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, erinnern talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden erinnern: “Wir werden meinen Freund an den Termin erinnern morgen.” — “We will remember my friend of the appointment tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, erinnern 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 erinnertest: “Du erinnertest meine Schwester an die Party eines Tages.” — “You would remember my sister of the party one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, erinnern appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is erinnere, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich erinnere meinen Bruder an das Treffen.” — “It is important that I remember my brother of the meeting.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich erinnern meinen Freund an den Termin.”

✓ Right: “Ich erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin.”

The infinitive erinnern never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form erinnere.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin.”

✓ Right: “Du erinnerst meinen Freund an den Termin.”

erinnere is the ich form. With du you need erinnerst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinen Freund an den Termin geerinnert gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du erinnerst meine Schwester an die Party.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du erinnerest meine Schwester an die Party.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geerinnert meinen Freund an den Termin.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinen Freund an den Termin geerinnert.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) erinnere
    • B) erinnerst
    • C) erinnert
    • D) erinnern

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

    • A) erinnert
    • B) erinnern
    • C) erinnerst
    • D) erinnere

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

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

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

    • A) erinnertest
    • B) erinnertet
    • C) erinnerten
    • D) erinnerte

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

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

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

    • A) erinnerte
    • B) erinnertest
    • C) erinnerten
    • D) erinnertet

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

    • A) erinnere
    • B) erinnerest
    • C) erinnern
    • D) erinnert

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

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

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

    • A) gefürchtet
    • B) geerinnert
    • C) gehofft
    • D) gewünscht

  10. What does erinnern mean in English?

  • A) to wish
  • B) to fear
  • C) to remember
  • D) to hope

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does erinnern mean in English?

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

Is erinnern regular or irregular?

erinnern is regular in every tense. Partizip I is erinnernd and Partizip II is geerinnert.

How do I practise erinnern every day?

Say one sentence with erinnern 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 erinnere meinen Freund an den Termin jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meinen Freund an den Termin geerinnert gestern.” and “Ich werde meinen Freund an den Termin erinnern 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 erinnern, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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