Erklären: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Erklären means “to explain”, 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 erklären, 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 erklären, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester jeden Tag.” — “I explain the rule to my sister every day.”
  2. “Du erklärst das Problem meinem Freund jeden Tag.” — “You explain the problem to my friend every day.”
  3. “Ich habe den Weg dem Touristen geerklärt gestern.” — “I have explained the way to the tourist yesterday.”
  4. “Er erklärte die Regel meiner Schwester gestern.” — “He explained the rule to my sister yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden das Problem meinem Freund erklären morgen.” — “We will explain the problem to my friend tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast den Weg dem Touristen geerklärt gestern.” — “You have explained the way to the tourist yesterday.”
  7. “Ich erklärte die Regel meiner Schwester eines Tages.” — “I would explain the rule to my sister one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er erkläre das Problem meinem Freund.” — “It is important that he explain the problem to my friend.”
  9. “Wir hatten den Weg dem Touristen geerklärt vor der Party.” — “We had explained the way to the tourist before the party.”
  10. “Er wird die Regel meiner Schwester erklären morgen.” — “He will explain the rule to my sister tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie erklären das Problem meinem Freund jeden Tag.” — “They explain the problem to my friend every day.”
  12. “Erklär den Weg dem Touristen!” — “Explain the way to the tourist!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du erklärst die Regel meiner Schwester jeden Tag.” — “You explain the rule to my sister every day.” Jonas: “Ich erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester jeden Tag.” — “I explain the rule to my sister every day.” Lena: “Du wirst das Problem meinem Freund erklären morgen.” — “You will explain the problem to my friend tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde das Problem meinem Freund erklären morgen.” — “I will explain the problem to my friend tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast den Weg dem Touristen geerklärt gestern.” — “You have explained the way to the tourist yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe den Weg dem Touristen geerklärt gestern.” — “I have explained the way to the tourist yesterday.” Lena: “Du erklärtest die Regel meiner Schwester eines Tages.” — “You would explain the rule to my sister one day.” Jonas: “Ich erklärte die Regel meiner Schwester eines Tages.” — “I would explain the rule to my sister 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.

Erklären in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, erklären describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is erkläre: “Ich erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester jeden Tag.” — “I explain the rule to my sister every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, erklären describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is erklärte: “Er erklärte das Problem meinem Freund gestern.” — “He explained the problem to my friend yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, erklären reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geerklärt. The ich form is habe geerklärt: “Ich habe den Weg dem Touristen geerklärt gestern.” — “I have explained the way to the tourist yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, erklären talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden erklären: “Wir werden die Regel meiner Schwester erklären morgen.” — “We will explain the rule to my sister tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, erklären 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 erklärtest: “Du erklärtest das Problem meinem Freund eines Tages.” — “You would explain the problem to my friend one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, erklären appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is erkläre, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich erkläre den Weg dem Touristen.” — “It is important that I explain the way to the tourist.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich erklären die Regel meiner Schwester.”

✓ Right: “Ich erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester.”

The infinitive erklären never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form erkläre.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester.”

✓ Right: “Du erklärst die Regel meiner Schwester.”

erkläre is the ich form. With du you need erklärst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Regel meiner Schwester geerklärt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du erklärst das Problem meinem Freund.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du erklärest das Problem meinem Freund.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geerklärt die Regel meiner Schwester.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Regel meiner Schwester geerklärt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) erklärst
    • B) erklärt
    • C) erklären
    • D) erkläre

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

    • A) erklären
    • B) erklärst
    • C) erkläre
    • D) erklärt

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

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

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

    • A) erklärtet
    • B) erklärten
    • C) erklärte
    • D) erklärtest

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

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

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

    • A) erklärtest
    • B) erklärten
    • C) erklärtet
    • D) erklärte

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

    • A) erklärest
    • B) erklären
    • C) erkläret
    • D) erkläre

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

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

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

    • A) geerklärt
    • B) diskutiert
    • C) entschieden
    • D) gewählt

  10. What does erklären mean in English?

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does erklären mean in English?

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

Is erklären regular or irregular?

erklären is regular in every tense. Partizip I is erklärend and Partizip II is geerklärt.

How do I practise erklären every day?

Say one sentence with erklären 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 erkläre die Regel meiner Schwester jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe die Regel meiner Schwester geerklärt gestern.” and “Ich werde die Regel meiner Schwester erklären 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 erklären, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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