Haben: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Haben means “to have”, 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 haben, 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 haben, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” — “I have an interesting book.”
  2. “Du hast ein großes Haus.” — “You have a big house.”
  3. “Ich habe viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “I have had a lot of time today.”
  4. “Er hatte ein interessantes Buch.” — “He had an interesting book.”
  5. “Wir werden ein großes Haus haben.” — “We will have a big house.”
  6. “Du hast viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “You have had a lot of time today.”
  7. “Ich hätte ein interessantes Buch.” — “I would have an interesting book.”
  8. “Er habe ein großes Haus.” — “He has a big house.”
  9. “Wir hatten viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “We had had a lot of time today.”
  10. “Er wird ein interessantes Buch haben.” — “He will have an interesting book.”
  11. “Sie haben ein großes Haus.” — “They have a big house.”
  12. “Hab viel Zeit heute!” — “Have a lot of time today!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Hast du ein interessantes Buch?” — “You have an interesting book?” Jonas: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” — “I have an interesting book.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde ein großes Haus haben.” — “I will have a big house.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “I have had a lot of time today.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich hätte ein interessantes Buch.” — “I would have an interesting book.”

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.

Haben in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, haben describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is habe: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” — “I have an interesting book.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, haben describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is hatte: “Er hatte ein großes Haus.” — “He had a big house.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, haben reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gehabt. The ich form is habe gehabt: “Ich habe viel Zeit heute gehabt.” — “I have had a lot of time today.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, haben talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden haben: “Wir werden ein interessantes Buch haben.” — “We will have an interesting book.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, haben talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is hättest: “Du hättest ein großes Haus.” — “You would have a big house.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, haben appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is habe: “Er habe viel Zeit heute.” — “He has a lot of time today.” 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 haben ein interessantes Buch.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.”

The infinitive haben never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form habe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du habe ein interessantes Buch.”

✓ Right: “Du hast ein interessantes Buch.”

habe is the ich form. With du you need hast. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gehabt ein interessantes Buch.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    • A) hättest
    • B) hätten
    • C) hättet
    • D) hätte

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

    • A) habe
    • B) habest
    • C) haben
    • D) habet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of haben?

    • A) gemusst
    • B) gehabt
    • C) geworden
    • D) gekonnt

  10. What does haben mean in English?

  • A) to have to
  • B) to have
  • C) to become
  • D) to be able to

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does haben mean in English?

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

Is haben regular or irregular?

haben is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is habend and the past participle is gehabt.

How do I practise haben every day?

Say one sentence with haben 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 habe ein interessantes Buch.”, “Ich habe ein interessantes Buch gehabt.” and “Ich werde ein interessantes Buch haben.”. 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 haben, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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