Fahren: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Fahren means “to drive”, 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 fahren, 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 fahren, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich fahre nach Berlin.” — “I drive to Berlin.”
  2. “Du fährst mit dem Auto zur Arbeit.” — “You drive to work by car.”
  3. “Ich bin jeden Tag mit dem Bus gefahren.” — “I have driven by bus every day.”
  4. “Er fuhr nach Berlin.” — “He drove to Berlin.”
  5. “Wir werden mit dem Auto zur Arbeit fahren.” — “We will drive to work by car.”
  6. “Du bist jeden Tag mit dem Bus gefahren.” — “You have driven by bus every day.”
  7. “Ich führe nach Berlin.” — “I would drive to Berlin.”
  8. “Er fahre mit dem Auto zur Arbeit.” — “He drives to work by car.”
  9. “Wir waren jeden Tag mit dem Bus gefahren.” — “We had driven by bus every day.”
  10. “Er wird nach Berlin fahren.” — “He will drive to Berlin.”
  11. “Sie fahren mit dem Auto zur Arbeit.” — “They drive to work by car.”
  12. “Fahr jeden Tag mit dem Bus!” — “Drive by bus every day!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Fährst du nach Berlin?” — “You drive to Berlin?” Jonas: “Ich fahre nach Berlin.” — “I drive to Berlin.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde mit dem Auto zur Arbeit fahren.” — “I will drive to work by car.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich bin jeden Tag mit dem Bus gefahren.” — “I have driven by bus every day.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich führe nach Berlin.” — “I would drive to Berlin.”

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.

Fahren in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, fahren describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is fahre: “Ich fahre nach Berlin.” — “I drive to Berlin.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, fahren describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is fuhr: “Er fuhr mit dem Auto zur Arbeit.” — “He drove to work by car.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, fahren reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with sein plus the participle gefahren. The ich form is bin gefahren: “Ich bin jeden Tag mit dem Bus gefahren.” — “I have driven by bus every day.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, fahren talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden fahren: “Wir werden nach Berlin fahren.” — “We will drive to Berlin.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, fahren talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is führest: “Du führest mit dem Auto zur Arbeit.” — “You would drive to work by car.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, fahren appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is fahre: “Er fahre jeden Tag mit dem Bus.” — “He drives by bus every day.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich fahren nach Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich fahre nach Berlin.”

The infinitive fahren never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form fahre.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du fahre nach Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Du fährst nach Berlin.”

fahre is the ich form. With du you need fährst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich fahre nach Berlin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich fahre nach Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich fahre nach Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: fahre, not the indicative fahre.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gefahren nach Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren.”

The Perfekt of fahren needs the auxiliary sein plus the participle gefahren: the full ich form is bin gefahren.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) fährt
    • B) fahren
    • C) fahre
    • D) fährst

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

    • A) fahren
    • B) fährst
    • C) fahre
    • D) fährt

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

    • A) ist gefahren
    • B) bin gefahren
    • C) bist gefahren
    • D) sind gefahren

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

    • A) fuhren
    • B) fuhr
    • C) fuhrst
    • D) fuhrt

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of fahren in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) führest
    • B) führen
    • C) führet
    • D) führe

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

    • A) fahren
    • B) fahret
    • C) fahre
    • D) fahrest

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

    • A) waren gefahren
    • B) wart gefahren
    • C) war gefahren
    • D) warst gefahren

  9. What is the past participle of fahren?

    • A) gefahren
    • B) gelassen
    • C) gebracht
    • D) gearbeitet

  10. What does fahren mean in English?

  • A) to let, to leave
  • B) to bring
  • C) to work
  • D) to drive

Answer key

  1. C) fahre — the ich form of fahren in the Present (Präsens) is fahre. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) fährst — the du form of fahren in the Present (Präsens) is fährst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. A) ist gefahren — the er/sie/es form of fahren in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist gefahren. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) fuhren — the wir form of fahren in the Preterite (Präteritum) is fuhren. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) wirst fahren — the du form of fahren in the Future (Futur I) is wirst fahren. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) führe — the ich form of fahren in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is führe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) fahre — the er/sie/es form of fahren in the Konjunktiv I is fahre. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) war gefahren — the ich form of fahren in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war gefahren. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) gefahren — the past participle of fahren is gefahren. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to drive — fahren means “to drive” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does fahren mean in English?

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

Is fahren regular or irregular?

fahren is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is fahrend and the past participle is gefahren.

How do I practise fahren every day?

Say one sentence with fahren 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 fahre nach Berlin.”, “Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren.” and “Ich werde nach Berlin fahren.”. 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 fahren, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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