Freuen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Freuen means “to please”, and this page covers exactly one thing: freuen 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 freuen, 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 freuen in the present. For example: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of freuen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Freuen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich freue
du freust
er/sie/es freut
wir freuen
ihr freut
sie/Sie freuen

Partizip I: freuend · Partizip II: gefreut

The present participle is freuend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gefreut, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe gefreut, 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 freuen is used.

How the Präsens of freuen is formed

The present of freuen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich freue, du freust, er/sie/es freut, wir freuen, ihr freut, sie/Sie freuen. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

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 freuend and Partizip II gefreut belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise freuen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of freuen

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

1. Pleasing my mother with the present — the everyday use

Freuen is the verb for pleasing my mother with the present. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.”

2. Pleasing the children with the game — a second everyday use

Freuen also covers pleasing the children with the game. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du freust die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “You please the children with the game every day.”

3. Pleasing my friend with the news — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use freuen for pleasing my friend with the news. 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 freut meinen Freund mit der Nachricht jeden Tag.” — “He pleases my friend with the news 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 freuen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “We please my mother with the present 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 freuen 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 freut die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “You please the children with the game 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 freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich freute meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk gestern.” — “I pleased my mother with the present 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 freust die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “You please the children with the game every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du freutest die Kinder mit dem Spiel gestern.” — “You pleased the children with the game 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 freuen meinen Freund mit der Nachricht jeden Tag.” — “We please my friend with the news every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir freuten meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gestern.” — “We pleased my friend with the news 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: freuen 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 freue die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I please the children with the game every day.”

  2. “Du freust meinen Freund mit der Nachricht jeden Tag.” — “You please my friend with the news every day.”

  3. “Er freut meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “He pleases my mother with the present every day.”

  4. “Wir freuen die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “We please the children with the game every day.”

  5. “Ihr freut meinen Freund mit der Nachricht jeden Tag.” — “You please my friend with the news every day.”

  6. “Sie freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “They please my mother with the present every day.”

  7. “Ich freue die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I please the children with the game every day.”

  8. “Du freust meinen Freund mit der Nachricht jeden Tag.” — “You please my friend with the news every day.”

Common mistakes with freuen 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 freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Right: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Why: The ich form is freue, not freuen. Freuen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Right: “Wir freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: freuen, not freuen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Why: The infinitive freuen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form freue.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use freue here, not the indicative freue.

Quiz: freuen 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 ______ die Kinder mit dem Spiel.”

  • (A) freuen
  • (B) freue
  • (C) freust
  • (D) freut

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ meinen Freund mit der Nachricht.”

  • (A) freue
  • (B) freut
  • (C) freuen
  • (D) freust

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

  • (A) freust
  • (B) freuen
  • (C) freut
  • (D) freue

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ die Kinder mit dem Spiel.”

  • (A) freue
  • (B) freust
  • (C) freut
  • (D) freuen

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ meinen Freund mit der Nachricht.”

  • (A) freust
  • (B) freuen
  • (C) freut
  • (D) freue

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

  • (A) freue
  • (B) freust
  • (C) freut
  • (D) freuen

7. What does freuen mean in English?

  • (A) to annoy
  • (B) to wait
  • (C) to arrive
  • (D) to please

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

  • (A) gewartet
  • (B) angekommen
  • (C) gefreut
  • (D) geärgert

Answer key

  1. B) freue — The ich form is freue.
  2. D) freust — The du form is freust.
  3. C) freut — The er/sie/es form is freut.
  4. D) freuen — The wir form is freuen.
  5. C) freut — The ihr form is freut.
  6. D) freuen — The sie/Sie form is freuen.
  7. D) to please — freuen means “to please”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. C) gefreut — The past participle of freuen is gefreut; the Präsens is formed with haben + gefreut.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of freuen formed?

The present of freuen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich freue, du freust, er freut, wir freuen, ihr freut, sie freuen.

When do I use the present of freuen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

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

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” with “Ich freute meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk 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 freuen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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