Kosten: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Kosten means “to cost”, 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 kosten, 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 kosten, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich koste fünf Euro jeden Tag.” — “I cost five euros every day.”
  2. “Du kostest zu viel Geld jeden Tag.” — “You cost too much money every day.”
  3. “Ich habe einen Euro gekostet gestern.” — “I have cost one euro yesterday.”
  4. “Er kostete fünf Euro gestern.” — “He cost five euros yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden zu viel Geld kosten morgen.” — “We will cost too much money tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast einen Euro gekostet gestern.” — “You have cost one euro yesterday.”
  7. “Ich kostete fünf Euro eines Tages.” — “I would cost five euros one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er koste zu viel Geld.” — “It is important that he cost too much money.”
  9. “Wir hatten einen Euro gekostet vor der Party.” — “We had cost one euro before the party.”
  10. “Er wird fünf Euro kosten morgen.” — “He will cost five euros tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie kosten zu viel Geld jeden Tag.” — “They cost too much money every day.”
  12. “Koste einen Euro!” — “Cost one euro!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du kostest fünf Euro jeden Tag.” — “You cost five euros every day.” Jonas: “Ich koste fünf Euro jeden Tag.” — “I cost five euros every day.” Lena: “Du wirst zu viel Geld kosten morgen.” — “You will cost too much money tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde zu viel Geld kosten morgen.” — “I will cost too much money tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast einen Euro gekostet gestern.” — “You have cost one euro yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe einen Euro gekostet gestern.” — “I have cost one euro yesterday.” Lena: “Du kostetest fünf Euro eines Tages.” — “You would cost five euros one day.” Jonas: “Ich kostete fünf Euro eines Tages.” — “I would cost five euros one day.”

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.

Kosten in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, kosten describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is koste: “Ich koste fünf Euro jeden Tag.” — “I cost five euros every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, kosten describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is kostete: “Er kostete zu viel Geld gestern.” — “He cost too much money yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, kosten reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gekostet. The ich form is habe gekostet: “Ich habe einen Euro gekostet gestern.” — “I have cost one euro yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, kosten talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden kosten: “Wir werden fünf Euro kosten morgen.” — “We will cost five euros tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, kosten talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is kostetest: “Du kostetest zu viel Geld eines Tages.” — “You would cost too much money one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, kosten appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is koste, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich koste einen Euro.” — “It is important that I cost one euro.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich kosten fünf Euro.”

✓ Right: “Ich koste fünf Euro.”

The infinitive kosten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form koste.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du koste fünf Euro.”

✓ Right: “Du kostest fünf Euro.”

koste is the ich form. With du you need kostest. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich koste fünf Euro gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe fünf Euro gekostet gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du kostest zu viel Geld.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du kostest zu viel Geld.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: kostest, not the indicative kostest.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gekostet fünf Euro.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe fünf Euro gekostet.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) kostet
    • B) kosten
    • C) koste
    • D) kostest

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

    • A) koste
    • B) kostet
    • C) kosten
    • D) kostest

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

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

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

    • A) kostete
    • B) kostetest
    • C) kostetet
    • D) kosteten

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of kosten in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) kostetet
    • B) kostete
    • C) kostetest
    • D) kosteten

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

    • A) kosten
    • B) kostet
    • C) koste
    • D) kostest

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

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

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of kosten?

    • A) verloren
    • B) begonnen
    • C) gekostet
    • D) gewonnen

  10. What does kosten mean in English?

  • A) to cost
  • B) to win
  • C) to lose
  • D) to begin

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does kosten mean in English?

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

Is kosten regular or irregular?

kosten is regular in every tense. Partizip I is kostend and Partizip II is gekostet.

How do I practise kosten every day?

Say one sentence with kosten 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 koste fünf Euro jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe fünf Euro gekostet gestern.” and “Ich werde fünf Euro kosten morgen.”. 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 kosten, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages