Helfen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Helfen means “to help”, 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 helfen, 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 helfen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” — “I help my friend.”
  2. “Du hilfst meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “You help my mother in the kitchen.”
  3. “Ich habe den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “I have helped the children with their homework.”
  4. “Er half meinem Freund.” — “He helped my friend.”
  5. “Wir werden meiner Mutter in der Küche helfen.” — “We will help my mother in the kitchen.”
  6. “Du hast den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “You have helped the children with their homework.”
  7. “Ich hälfe meinem Freund.” — “I would help my friend.”
  8. “Er helfe meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “He helps my mother in the kitchen.”
  9. “Wir hatten den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “We had helped the children with their homework.”
  10. “Er wird meinem Freund helfen.” — “He will help my friend.”
  11. “Sie helfen meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “They help my mother in the kitchen.”
  12. “Hilf den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben!” — “Help the children with their homework!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Hilfst du meinem Freund?” — “You help my friend?” Jonas: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” — “I help my friend.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde meiner Mutter in der Küche helfen.” — “I will help my mother in the kitchen.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “I have helped the children with their homework.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich hälfe meinem Freund.” — “I would help my friend.”

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.

Helfen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, helfen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is helfe: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” — “I help my friend.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, helfen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is half: “Er half meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “He helped my mother in the kitchen.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, helfen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle geholfen. The ich form is habe geholfen: “Ich habe den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben geholfen.” — “I have helped the children with their homework.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, helfen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden helfen: “Wir werden meinem Freund helfen.” — “We will help my friend.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, helfen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is hälfest: “Du hälfest meiner Mutter in der Küche.” — “You would help my mother in the kitchen.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, helfen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is helfe: “Er helfe den Kindern bei den Hausaufgaben.” — “He helps the children with their homework.” 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 helfen meinem Freund.”

✓ Right: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.”

The infinitive helfen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form helfe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du helfe meinem Freund.”

✓ Right: “Du hilfst meinem Freund.”

helfe is the ich form. With du you need hilfst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich helfe meinem Freund gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich helfe meinem Freund.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geholfen meinem Freund.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) helfe
    • B) hilfst
    • C) hilft
    • D) helfen

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

    • A) hilft
    • B) helfen
    • C) hilfst
    • D) helfe

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

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

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

    • A) halfst
    • B) halft
    • C) halfen
    • D) half

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

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

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

    • A) hälfet
    • B) hälfe
    • C) hälfest
    • D) hälfen

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

    • A) helfe
    • B) helfest
    • C) helfen
    • D) helfet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of helfen?

    • A) geholfen
    • B) gelernt
    • C) studiert
    • D) gelesen

  10. What does helfen mean in English?

  • A) to help
  • B) to learn
  • C) to study
  • D) to read

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does helfen mean in English?

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

Is helfen regular or irregular?

helfen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is helfend and the past participle is geholfen.

How do I practise helfen every day?

Say one sentence with helfen 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 helfe meinem Freund.”, “Ich habe meinem Freund geholfen.” and “Ich werde meinem Freund helfen.”. 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 helfen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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