Laufen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Laufen means “to run”, 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 laufen, 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 laufen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich laufe im Park jeden Tag.” — “I run in the park every day.”
  2. “Du läufst zum Bahnhof jeden Tag.” — “You run to the station every day.”
  3. “Ich bin jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run every morning yesterday.”
  4. “Er lief im Park gestern.” — “He ran in the park yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden zum Bahnhof laufen morgen.” — “We will run to the station tomorrow.”
  6. “Du bist jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run every morning yesterday.”
  7. “Ich liefe im Park eines Tages.” — “I would run in the park one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er laufe zum Bahnhof.” — “It is important that he run to the station.”
  9. “Wir waren jeden Morgen gelaufen vor der Party.” — “We had run every morning before the party.”
  10. “Er wird im Park laufen morgen.” — “He will run in the park tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie laufen zum Bahnhof jeden Tag.” — “They run to the station every day.”
  12. “Lauf jeden Morgen!” — “Run every morning!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du läufst im Park jeden Tag.” — “You run in the park every day.” Jonas: “Ich laufe im Park jeden Tag.” — “I run in the park every day.” Lena: “Du wirst zum Bahnhof laufen morgen.” — “You will run to the station tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde zum Bahnhof laufen morgen.” — “I will run to the station tomorrow.” Lena: “Du bist jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run every morning yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich bin jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run every morning yesterday.” Lena: “Du liefest im Park eines Tages.” — “You would run in the park one day.” Jonas: “Ich liefe im Park eines Tages.” — “I would run in the park 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.

Laufen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, laufen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is laufe: “Ich laufe im Park jeden Tag.” — “I run in the park every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, laufen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is lief: “Er lief zum Bahnhof gestern.” — “He ran to the station yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, laufen reports one finished action, built with sein plus the participle gelaufen. The ich form is bin gelaufen: “Ich bin jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run every morning yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, laufen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden laufen: “Wir werden im Park laufen morgen.” — “We will run in the park tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, laufen 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 liefest: “Du liefest zum Bahnhof eines Tages.” — “You would run to the station one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, laufen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is laufe, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich laufe jeden Morgen.” — “It is important that I run every morning.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich laufen im Park.”

✓ Right: “Ich laufe im Park.”

The infinitive laufen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form laufe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du laufe im Park.”

✓ Right: “Du läufst im Park.”

laufe is the ich form. With du you need läufst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich laufe im Park gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du läufst zum Bahnhof.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du laufest zum Bahnhof.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gelaufen im Park.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen.”

The Perfekt of laufen needs the auxiliary sein plus the participle gelaufen: the full ich form is bin gelaufen.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) läufst
    • B) läuft
    • C) laufen
    • D) laufe

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

    • A) läuft
    • B) laufen
    • C) läufst
    • D) laufe

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

    • A) sind gelaufen
    • B) ist gelaufen
    • C) bin gelaufen
    • D) bist gelaufen

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

    • A) lieft
    • B) liefen
    • C) lief
    • D) liefst

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

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

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

    • A) liefest
    • B) liefen
    • C) liefet
    • D) liefe

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

    • A) laufest
    • B) laufen
    • C) laufet
    • D) laufe

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

    • A) warst gelaufen
    • B) waren gelaufen
    • C) wart gelaufen
    • D) war gelaufen

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

    • A) geschwommen
    • B) gelaufen
    • C) gerannt
    • D) gesprungen

  10. What does laufen mean in English?

  • A) to run
  • B) to run fast
  • C) to jump
  • D) to swim

Answer key

  1. D) laufe — the ich form of laufen in the Present (Präsens) is laufe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) läufst — the du form of laufen in the Present (Präsens) is läufst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) ist gelaufen — the er/sie/es form of laufen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist gelaufen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) liefen — the wir form of laufen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is liefen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) wirst laufen — the du form of laufen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst laufen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) liefe — the ich form of laufen in the Konjunktiv II is liefe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) laufe — the er/sie/es form of laufen in the Konjunktiv I is laufe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) war gelaufen — the ich form of laufen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war gelaufen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) gelaufen — the past participle of laufen is gelaufen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to run — laufen means “to run” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does laufen mean in English?

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

Is laufen regular or irregular?

laufen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is laufend and Partizip II is gelaufen.

How do I practise laufen every day?

Say one sentence with laufen 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 laufe im Park jeden Tag.”, “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” and “Ich werde im Park laufen 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 laufen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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