Fliegen in the Perfekt Tense in German
Introduction
Fliegen means “to fly”, and this page covers exactly one thing: fliegen in the Perfekt. The Perfekt is the tense German speakers reach for in everyday speech when they talk about completed actions in the past — what happened yesterday, last week, or a moment ago. On this page you will find the full Perfekt table for fliegen, 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 fliegen in the Perfekt. For example: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “I have flown to Berlin yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of fliegen exactly as they are conjugated in the Perfekt, so you can trust every form you see here.
Fliegen in the Perfekt Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin geflogen |
| du | bist geflogen |
| er/sie/es | ist geflogen |
| wir | sind geflogen |
| ihr | seid geflogen |
| sie/Sie | sind geflogen |
Partizip I: fliegend · Partizip II: geflogen
The present participle is fliegend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is geflogen, which you use with sein in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is bin geflogen, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Perfekt is only one part of how fliegen is used.
How the Perfekt of fliegen is formed
The Perfekt of fliegen is formed with the auxiliary sein in the present plus the past participle geflogen: the auxiliary forms are ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind. Put the two parts together and you get the table above — for example, the ich form is bin geflogen and the sie form is sind geflogen. The participle geflogen never changes its spelling in this table: the verified dump gives the participle in the uninflected form throughout, and agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence.
Because fliegen takes sein as its auxiliary, it belongs to the group of verbs of movement and change of state that form their perfect tenses with sein. That is the first thing to check whenever you build a perfect tense with this verb: reach for sein, not haben, and then add geflogen.
The same participle geflogen appears in the pluperfect, the future perfect and the conditional perfect — only the auxiliary changes tense. Learn the pair “sein + geflogen” once and you have the key to all four perfect tenses of fliegen.
When to use the Perfekt of fliegen
The Perfekt is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use fliegen in the Perfekt most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Flying to Berlin — finished
When the action of flying to Berlin is finished, the Perfekt is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “I have flown to Berlin yesterday.”
2. Flying to Paris — finished
The same rule applies to flying to Paris: once the action is done, the Perfekt reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Du bist nach Paris geflogen gestern.” — “You have flown to Paris yesterday.”
3. Flying on holiday — finished
A third everyday situation is flying on holiday, and again the Perfekt is right when the action is finished. Example: “Er ist in den Urlaub geflogen gestern.” — “He has flown on holiday yesterday.”
4. A sequence of completed actions
The Perfekt is the tense of the story told step by step: first this happened, then that happened. When you tell someone what you did yesterday, you chain Perfekt forms together, one per finished action. Example: “Wir sind nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “We have flown to Berlin yesterday.”
5. Recent past and life experience
The Perfekt also covers the recent past and things that have happened at some point in your life. With time words such as gestern, letzte Woche or heute Morgen, the Perfekt is the natural choice. Example: “Ihr seid nach Paris geflogen gestern.” — “You have flown to Paris yesterday.”
Perfekt vs Preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the Perfekt 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 Perfekt describes one finished action in everyday speech. 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 Perfekt 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.
Perfekt: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “I have flown to Berlin yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich flog nach Berlin gestern.” — “I flew to Berlin yesterday.”
The Perfekt 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.
Perfekt: “Du bist nach Paris geflogen gestern.” — “You have flown to Paris yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Du flogst nach Paris gestern.” — “You flew to Paris yesterday.”
The Perfekt 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.
Perfekt: “Wir sind in den Urlaub geflogen gestern.” — “We have flown on holiday yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir flogen in den Urlaub gestern.” — “We flew on holiday yesterday.”
The Perfekt 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: fliegen in the Perfekt
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.
“Ich bin nach Paris geflogen gestern.” — “I have flown to Paris yesterday.”
“Du bist in den Urlaub geflogen gestern.” — “You have flown on holiday yesterday.”
“Er ist nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “He has flown to Berlin yesterday.”
“Wir sind nach Paris geflogen gestern.” — “We have flown to Paris yesterday.”
“Ihr seid in den Urlaub geflogen gestern.” — “You have flown on holiday yesterday.”
“Sie sind nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “They have flown to Berlin yesterday.”
“Ich bin nach Paris geflogen gestern.” — “I have flown to Paris yesterday.”
“Du bist in den Urlaub geflogen gestern.” — “You have flown on holiday yesterday.”
Common mistakes with fliegen in the Perfekt
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 fliege nach Berlin gestern.” Right: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the Perfekt bin geflogen, not the present fliege. The time word gestern points to the past.
Wrong: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen jeden Tag.” (said of a daily habit) Right: “Ich fliege nach Berlin jeden Tag.” Why: The Perfekt bin geflogen describes one finished action. For something you do every day, use the present fliege.
Wrong: “Ich nach Berlin geflogen.” — leaving out the auxiliary Right: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen.” Why: The Perfekt needs both parts: the auxiliary sein and the participle geflogen. The participle alone is not a complete Perfekt.
Wrong: “Ich flog nach Berlin gestern.” (in everyday speech) Right: “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” Why: The preterite flog is mostly a written tense. In everyday speech, a finished action yesterday takes the Perfekt bin geflogen.
Quiz: fliegen in the Perfekt
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 ______ nach Paris.”
- (A) bin geflogen
- (B) bist geflogen
- (C) ist geflogen
- (D) sind geflogen
2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ in den Urlaub.”
- (A) bin geflogen
- (B) ist geflogen
- (C) sind geflogen
- (D) bist geflogen
3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ nach Berlin.”
- (A) sind geflogen
- (B) ist geflogen
- (C) bin geflogen
- (D) bist geflogen
4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ nach Paris.”
- (A) bin geflogen
- (B) bist geflogen
- (C) ist geflogen
- (D) sind geflogen
5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ in den Urlaub.”
- (A) seid geflogen
- (B) bin geflogen
- (C) bist geflogen
- (D) ist geflogen
6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ nach Berlin.”
- (A) bin geflogen
- (B) bist geflogen
- (C) ist geflogen
- (D) sind geflogen
7. What does fliegen mean in English?
- (A) to sing
- (B) to cook
- (C) to fly
- (D) to dance
8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of fliegen?
- (A) gekocht
- (B) geflogen
- (C) getanzt
- (D) gesungen
Answer key
- A) bin geflogen — The ich form is bin geflogen.
- D) bist geflogen — The du form is bist geflogen.
- B) ist geflogen — The er/sie/es form is ist geflogen.
- D) sind geflogen — The wir form is sind geflogen.
- A) seid geflogen — The ihr form is seid geflogen.
- D) sind geflogen — The sie/Sie form is sind geflogen.
- C) to fly — fliegen means “to fly”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
- B) geflogen — The past participle of fliegen is geflogen; the Perfekt is formed with sein + geflogen.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Perfekt of fliegen formed?
With the auxiliary sein in the present plus the past participle geflogen: ich bin geflogen, du bist geflogen, er ist geflogen, wir sind geflogen, ihr seid geflogen, sie sind geflogen.
When do I use the Perfekt of fliegen?
Use the Perfekt for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German — for example, “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” — “I have flown to Berlin yesterday.” For an ongoing or habitual past action, use the preterite in writing instead.
What is the difference between the Perfekt and the preterite of fliegen?
The Perfekt reports one finished action in everyday speech; the preterite reports a completed past action in writing and stories. Compare “Ich bin nach Berlin geflogen gestern.” with “Ich flog nach Berlin gestern.” — the first is spoken, the second is written.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for fliegen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of fliegen — every tense of fliegen in one place.
- Fliegen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Fliegen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Tanzen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Singen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Kochen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise fliegen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise fliegen with the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise fliegen with the interactive tool.