Erzählen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Erzählen means “to tell”, and this page covers exactly one thing: erzählen in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for erzählen, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about erzählen in the present. For example: “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I tell my friend a story every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of erzählen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Erzählen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich erzähle
du erzählst
er/sie/es erzählt
wir erzählen
ihr erzählt
sie/Sie erzählen

Partizip I: erzählend · Partizip II: erzählt

The present participle is erzählend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is erzählt, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe erzählt, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how erzählen is used.

How the Präsens of erzählen is formed

The present of erzählen is irregular: the forms do not follow the regular weak pattern, so learn them as a set — ich erzähle, du erzählst, er/sie/es erzählt, wir erzählen, ihr erzählt, sie/Sie erzählen. There is no single stem that produces all six forms, which is why this verb is listed as irregular in the present in the verified tables. Say the six forms aloud in order, ich to sie, until the set feels like one unit rather than six separate words.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I erzählend and Partizip II erzählt belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise erzählen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of erzählen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use erzählen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Telling my friend a story — the everyday use

Erzählen is the verb for telling my friend a story. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I tell my friend a story every day.”

2. Telling my sister a fairy tale — a second everyday use

Erzählen also covers telling my sister a fairy tale. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du erzählst meiner Schwester ein Märchen jeden Tag.” — “You tell my sister a fairy tale every day.”

3. Telling my children a joke — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use erzählen for telling my children a joke. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er erzählt meinen Kindern einen Witz jeden Tag.” — “He tells my children a joke every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and erzählen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir erzählen meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “We tell my friend a story every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with erzählen in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr erzählt meiner Schwester ein Märchen jeden Tag.” — “You tell my sister a fairy tale every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I tell my friend a story every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich erzählte meinem Freund eine Geschichte gestern.” — “I told my friend a story yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Du erzählst meiner Schwester ein Märchen jeden Tag.” — “You tell my sister a fairy tale every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du erzähltest meiner Schwester ein Märchen gestern.” — “You told my sister a fairy tale yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Wir erzählen meinen Kindern einen Witz jeden Tag.” — “We tell my children a joke every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir erzählten meinen Kindern einen Witz gestern.” — “We told my children a joke yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: erzählen in the Präsens

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Ich erzähle meiner Schwester ein Märchen jeden Tag.” — “I tell my sister a fairy tale every day.”

  2. “Du erzählst meinen Kindern einen Witz jeden Tag.” — “You tell my children a joke every day.”

  3. “Er erzählt meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “He tells my friend a story every day.”

  4. “Wir erzählen meiner Schwester ein Märchen jeden Tag.” — “We tell my sister a fairy tale every day.”

  5. “Ihr erzählt meinen Kindern einen Witz jeden Tag.” — “You tell my children a joke every day.”

  6. “Sie erzählen meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “They tell my friend a story every day.”

  7. “Ich erzähle meiner Schwester ein Märchen jeden Tag.” — “I tell my sister a fairy tale every day.”

  8. “Du erzählst meinen Kindern einen Witz jeden Tag.” — “You tell my children a joke every day.”

Common mistakes with erzählen in the Präsens

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Ich erzählen meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Right: “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Why: The ich form is erzähle, not erzählen. Erzählen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir erzählen meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Right: “Wir erzählen meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: erzählen, not erzählen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich erzählen meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Why: The infinitive erzählen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form erzähle.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use erzähle here, not the indicative erzähle.

Quiz: erzählen in the Präsens

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ meiner Schwester ein Märchen.”

  • (A) erzählt
  • (B) erzählen
  • (C) erzähle
  • (D) erzählst

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ meinen Kindern einen Witz.”

  • (A) erzählst
  • (B) erzähle
  • (C) erzählt
  • (D) erzählen

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ meinem Freund eine Geschichte.”

  • (A) erzähle
  • (B) erzählst
  • (C) erzählen
  • (D) erzählt

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ meiner Schwester ein Märchen.”

  • (A) erzählen
  • (B) erzähle
  • (C) erzählst
  • (D) erzählt

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ meinen Kindern einen Witz.”

  • (A) erzähle
  • (B) erzählst
  • (C) erzählen
  • (D) erzählt

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ meinem Freund eine Geschichte.”

  • (A) erzählen
  • (B) erzähle
  • (C) erzählst
  • (D) erzählt

7. What does erzählen mean in English?

  • (A) to tell
  • (B) to explain
  • (C) to discuss
  • (D) to decide

8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of erzählen?

  • (A) geerklärt
  • (B) diskutiert
  • (C) entschieden
  • (D) erzählt

Answer key

  1. C) erzähle — The ich form is erzähle.
  2. A) erzählst — The du form is erzählst.
  3. D) erzählt — The er/sie/es form is erzählt.
  4. A) erzählen — The wir form is erzählen.
  5. D) erzählt — The ihr form is erzählt.
  6. A) erzählen — The sie/Sie form is erzählen.
  7. A) to tell — erzählen means “to tell”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. D) erzählt — The past participle of erzählen is erzählt; the Präsens is formed with haben + erzählt.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of erzählen formed?

The present of erzählen is irregular, so the six forms must be learned as a set from the table above: ich erzähle, du erzählst, er erzählt, wir erzählen, ihr erzählt, sie erzählen. There is no regular pattern that produces them.

When do I use the present of erzählen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I tell my friend a story every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of erzählen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich erzähle meinem Freund eine Geschichte jeden Tag.” with “Ich erzählte meinem Freund eine Geschichte gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for erzählen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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