Geben: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Geben means “to give”, 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 geben, 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 geben, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie.” — “I give a book to Marie.”
  2. “Du gibst meinem Bruder Geld.” — “You give my brother some money.”
  3. “Ich habe meiner Mutter ein Geschenk gegeben.” — “I have given my mother a present.”
  4. “Er gab ein Buch an Marie.” — “He gave a book to Marie.”
  5. “Wir werden meinem Bruder Geld geben.” — “We will give my brother some money.”
  6. “Du hast meiner Mutter ein Geschenk gegeben.” — “You have given my mother a present.”
  7. “Ich gäbe ein Buch an Marie.” — “I would give a book to Marie.”
  8. “Er gebe meinem Bruder Geld.” — “He gives my brother some money.”
  9. “Wir hatten meiner Mutter ein Geschenk gegeben.” — “We had given my mother a present.”
  10. “Er wird ein Buch an Marie geben.” — “He will give a book to Marie.”
  11. “Sie geben meinem Bruder Geld.” — “They give my brother some money.”
  12. “Gib meiner Mutter ein Geschenk!” — “Give my mother a present!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Gibst du ein Buch an Marie?” — “You give a book to Marie?” Jonas: “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie.” — “I give a book to Marie.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde meinem Bruder Geld geben.” — “I will give my brother some money.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe meiner Mutter ein Geschenk gegeben.” — “I have given my mother a present.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich gäbe ein Buch an Marie.” — “I would give a book to Marie.”

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.

Geben in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, geben describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is gebe: “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie.” — “I give a book to Marie.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, geben describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is gab: “Er gab meinem Bruder Geld.” — “He gave my brother some money.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, geben reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gegeben. The ich form is habe gegeben: “Ich habe meiner Mutter ein Geschenk gegeben.” — “I have given my mother a present.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, geben talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden geben: “Wir werden ein Buch an Marie geben.” — “We will give a book to Marie.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, geben talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is gäbest: “Du gäbest meinem Bruder Geld.” — “You would give my brother some money.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, geben appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is gebe: “Er gebe meiner Mutter ein Geschenk.” — “He gives my mother a present.” 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 geben ein Buch an Marie.”

✓ Right: “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie.”

The infinitive geben never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form gebe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du gebe ein Buch an Marie.”

✓ Right: “Du gibst ein Buch an Marie.”

gebe is the ich form. With du you need gibst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Buch an Marie gegeben.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich gebe ein Buch an Marie.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gegeben ein Buch an Marie.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Buch an Marie gegeben.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) geben
    • B) gebe
    • C) gibst
    • D) gibt

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

    • A) gebe
    • B) gibt
    • C) geben
    • D) gibst

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

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

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

    • A) gab
    • B) gabst
    • C) gabt
    • D) gaben

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

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

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

    • A) gäben
    • B) gäbet
    • C) gäbe
    • D) gäbest

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

    • A) gebet
    • B) gebe
    • C) gebest
    • D) geben

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of geben?

    • A) gesehen
    • B) genommen
    • C) gefunden
    • D) gegeben

  10. What does geben mean in English?

  • A) to take
  • B) to find
  • C) to give
  • D) to see

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does geben mean in English?

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

Is geben regular or irregular?

geben is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is gebend and the past participle is gegeben.

How do I practise geben every day?

Say one sentence with geben 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 gebe ein Buch an Marie.”, “Ich habe ein Buch an Marie gegeben.” and “Ich werde ein Buch an Marie geben.”. 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 geben, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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