Fragen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Fragen means “to ask”, 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 fragen, 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 fragen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” — “I ask the teacher for the way.”
  2. “Du fragst Marie nach der Uhrzeit.” — “You ask Marie for the time.”
  3. “Ich habe meinen Bruder um Hilfe gefragt.” — “I have asked my brother for help.”
  4. “Er fragte den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” — “He asked the teacher for the way.”
  5. “Wir werden Marie nach der Uhrzeit fragen.” — “We will ask Marie for the time.”
  6. “Du hast meinen Bruder um Hilfe gefragt.” — “You have asked my brother for help.”
  7. “Ich fragte den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” — “I would ask the teacher for the way.”
  8. “Er frage Marie nach der Uhrzeit.” — “He asks Marie for the time.”
  9. “Wir hatten meinen Bruder um Hilfe gefragt.” — “We had asked my brother for help.”
  10. “Er wird den Lehrer nach dem Weg fragen.” — “He will ask the teacher for the way.”
  11. “Sie fragen Marie nach der Uhrzeit.” — “They ask Marie for the time.”
  12. “Frag meinen Bruder um Hilfe!” — “Ask my brother for help!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Fragst du den Lehrer nach dem Weg?” — “You ask the teacher for the way?” Jonas: “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” — “I ask the teacher for the way.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Marie nach der Uhrzeit fragen.” — “I will ask Marie for the time.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe meinen Bruder um Hilfe gefragt.” — “I have asked my brother for help.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich fragte den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” — “I would ask the teacher for the way.”

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.

Fragen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, fragen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is frage: “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” — “I ask the teacher for the way.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, fragen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is fragte: “Er fragte Marie nach der Uhrzeit.” — “He asked Marie for the time.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, fragen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gefragt. The ich form is habe gefragt: “Ich habe meinen Bruder um Hilfe gefragt.” — “I have asked my brother for help.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, fragen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden fragen: “Wir werden den Lehrer nach dem Weg fragen.” — “We will ask the teacher for the way.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, fragen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is fragtest: “Du fragtest Marie nach der Uhrzeit.” — “You would ask Marie for the time.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, fragen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is frage: “Er frage meinen Bruder um Hilfe.” — “He asks my brother for help.” 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 fragen den Lehrer nach dem Weg.”

✓ Right: “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.”

The infinitive fragen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form frage.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.”

✓ Right: “Du fragst den Lehrer nach dem Weg.”

frage is the ich form. With du you need fragst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe den Lehrer nach dem Weg gefragt.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gefragt den Lehrer nach dem Weg.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe den Lehrer nach dem Weg gefragt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) fragst
    • B) fragt
    • C) fragen
    • D) frage

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

    • A) fragen
    • B) fragst
    • C) frage
    • D) fragt

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

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

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

    • A) fragtet
    • B) fragten
    • C) fragte
    • D) fragtest

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

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

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

    • A) fragtest
    • B) fragten
    • C) fragtet
    • D) fragte

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

    • A) fragest
    • B) fragen
    • C) fraget
    • D) frage

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of fragen?

    • A) gefragt
    • B) geantwortet
    • C) geholfen
    • D) gelernt

  10. What does fragen mean in English?

  • A) to help
  • B) to learn
  • C) to ask
  • D) to answer

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does fragen mean in English?

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

Is fragen regular or irregular?

fragen is regular in every tense. The present participle is fragend and the past participle is gefragt.

How do I practise fragen every day?

Say one sentence with fragen 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 frage den Lehrer nach dem Weg.”, “Ich habe den Lehrer nach dem Weg gefragt.” and “Ich werde den Lehrer nach dem Weg fragen.”. 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 fragen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages