Fürchten in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Fürchten means “to fear”, and this page covers exactly one thing: fürchten 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 fürchten, 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 fürchten in the present. For example: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of fürchten exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Fürchten in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich fürchte
du fürchtest
er/sie/es fürchtet
wir fürchten
ihr fürchtet
sie/Sie fürchten

Partizip I: fürchtend · Partizip II: gefürchtet

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

How the Präsens of fürchten is formed

The present of fürchten follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich fürchte, du fürchtest, er/sie/es fürchtet, wir fürchten, ihr fürchtet, sie/Sie fürchten. 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 fürchtend and Partizip II gefürchtet belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise fürchten in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of fürchten

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

1. Fearing the dark — the everyday use

Fürchten is the verb for fearing the dark. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.”

2. Fearing the dog — a second everyday use

Fürchten also covers fearing the dog. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du fürchtest den Hund jeden Tag.” — “You fear the dog every day.”

3. Fearing the exam — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use fürchten for fearing the exam. 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 fürchtet die Prüfung jeden Tag.” — “He fears the exam 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 fürchten is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir fürchten die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “We fear the dark 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 fürchten 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 fürchtet den Hund jeden Tag.” — “You fear the dog 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 fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich fürchtete die Dunkelheit gestern.” — “I feared the dark 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 fürchtest den Hund jeden Tag.” — “You fear the dog every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du fürchtetest den Hund gestern.” — “You feared the dog 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 fürchten die Prüfung jeden Tag.” — “We fear the exam every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir fürchteten die Prüfung gestern.” — “We feared the exam 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: fürchten 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 fürchte den Hund jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dog every day.”

  2. “Du fürchtest die Prüfung jeden Tag.” — “You fear the exam every day.”

  3. “Er fürchtet die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “He fears the dark every day.”

  4. “Wir fürchten den Hund jeden Tag.” — “We fear the dog every day.”

  5. “Ihr fürchtet die Prüfung jeden Tag.” — “You fear the exam every day.”

  6. “Sie fürchten die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “They fear the dark every day.”

  7. “Ich fürchte den Hund jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dog every day.”

  8. “Du fürchtest die Prüfung jeden Tag.” — “You fear the exam every day.”

Common mistakes with fürchten 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 fürchten die Dunkelheit.” Right: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.” Why: The ich form is fürchte, not fürchten. Fürchten belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir fürchten die Dunkelheit.” Right: “Wir fürchten die Dunkelheit.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: fürchten, not fürchten. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich fürchten die Dunkelheit.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.” Why: The infinitive fürchten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form fürchte.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use fürchte here, not the indicative fürchte.

Quiz: fürchten 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 ______ den Hund.”

  • (A) fürchte
  • (B) fürchtest
  • (C) fürchtet
  • (D) fürchten

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ die Prüfung.”

  • (A) fürchten
  • (B) fürchtest
  • (C) fürchte
  • (D) fürchtet

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ die Dunkelheit.”

  • (A) fürchtet
  • (B) fürchte
  • (C) fürchtest
  • (D) fürchten

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ den Hund.”

  • (A) fürchtest
  • (B) fürchtet
  • (C) fürchten
  • (D) fürchte

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ die Prüfung.”

  • (A) fürchtet
  • (B) fürchte
  • (C) fürchtest
  • (D) fürchten

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ die Dunkelheit.”

  • (A) fürchtest
  • (B) fürchtet
  • (C) fürchten
  • (D) fürchte

7. What does fürchten mean in English?

  • (A) to worry
  • (B) to please
  • (C) to annoy
  • (D) to fear

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

  • (A) gefürchtet
  • (B) gesorgt
  • (C) gefreut
  • (D) geärgert

Answer key

  1. A) fürchte — The ich form is fürchte.
  2. B) fürchtest — The du form is fürchtest.
  3. A) fürchtet — The er/sie/es form is fürchtet.
  4. C) fürchten — The wir form is fürchten.
  5. A) fürchtet — The ihr form is fürchtet.
  6. C) fürchten — The sie/Sie form is fürchten.
  7. D) to fear — fürchten means “to fear”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. A) gefürchtet — The past participle of fürchten is gefürchtet; the Präsens is formed with haben + gefürchtet.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of fürchten formed?

The present of fürchten is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich fürchte, du fürchtest, er fürchtet, wir fürchten, ihr fürchtet, sie fürchten.

When do I use the present of fürchten?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

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

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” with “Ich fürchtete die Dunkelheit 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 fürchten, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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