Laufen in the Perfekt Tense in German
Introduction
Laufen means “to run”, and this page covers exactly one thing: laufen in the Perfekt. The Perfekt is the tense German speakers reach for in everyday speech when they talk about completed actions in the past — what happened yesterday, last week, or a moment ago. On this page you will find the full Perfekt table for laufen, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about laufen in the Perfekt. For example: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run in the park yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of laufen exactly as they are conjugated in the Perfekt, so you can trust every form you see here.
Laufen in the Perfekt Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin gelaufen |
| du | bist gelaufen |
| er/sie/es | ist gelaufen |
| wir | sind gelaufen |
| ihr | seid gelaufen |
| sie/Sie | sind gelaufen |
Partizip I: laufend · Partizip II: gelaufen
The present participle is laufend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gelaufen, which you use with sein in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is bin gelaufen, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Perfekt is only one part of how laufen is used.
How the Perfekt of laufen is formed
The Perfekt of laufen is formed with the auxiliary sein in the present plus the past participle gelaufen: the auxiliary forms are ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind. Put the two parts together and you get the table above — for example, the ich form is bin gelaufen and the sie form is sind gelaufen. The participle gelaufen never changes its spelling in this table: the verified dump gives the participle in the uninflected form throughout, and agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence.
Because laufen takes sein as its auxiliary, it belongs to the group of verbs of movement and change of state that form their perfect tenses with sein. That is the first thing to check whenever you build a perfect tense with this verb: reach for sein, not haben, and then add gelaufen.
The same participle gelaufen appears in the pluperfect, the future perfect and the conditional perfect — only the auxiliary changes tense. Learn the pair “sein + gelaufen” once and you have the key to all four perfect tenses of laufen.
When to use the Perfekt of laufen
The Perfekt is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use laufen in the Perfekt most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Running in the park — finished
When the action of running in the park is finished, the Perfekt is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run in the park yesterday.”
2. Running to the station — finished
The same rule applies to running to the station: once the action is done, the Perfekt reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Du bist zum Bahnhof gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run to the station yesterday.”
3. Running every morning — finished
A third everyday situation is running every morning, and again the Perfekt is right when the action is finished. Example: “Er ist jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “He has run every morning yesterday.”
4. A sequence of completed actions
The Perfekt is the tense of the story told step by step: first this happened, then that happened. When you tell someone what you did yesterday, you chain Perfekt forms together, one per finished action. Example: “Wir sind im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “We have run in the park yesterday.”
5. Recent past and life experience
The Perfekt also covers the recent past and things that have happened at some point in your life. With time words such as gestern, letzte Woche or heute Morgen, the Perfekt is the natural choice. Example: “Ihr seid zum Bahnhof gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run to the station yesterday.”
Perfekt vs Preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the Perfekt is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the Perfekt describes one finished action in everyday speech. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Perfekt sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.
Perfekt: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run in the park yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich lief im Park gestern.” — “I ran in the park yesterday.”
The Perfekt sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Perfekt: “Du bist zum Bahnhof gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run to the station yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Du liefst zum Bahnhof gestern.” — “You ran to the station yesterday.”
The Perfekt sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Perfekt: “Wir sind jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “We have run every morning yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir liefen jeden Morgen gestern.” — “We ran every morning yesterday.”
The Perfekt sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: laufen in the Perfekt
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Ich bin zum Bahnhof gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run to the station yesterday.”
“Du bist jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run every morning yesterday.”
“Er ist im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “He has run in the park yesterday.”
“Wir sind zum Bahnhof gelaufen gestern.” — “We have run to the station yesterday.”
“Ihr seid jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run every morning yesterday.”
“Sie sind im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “They have run in the park yesterday.”
“Ich bin zum Bahnhof gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run to the station yesterday.”
“Du bist jeden Morgen gelaufen gestern.” — “You have run every morning yesterday.”
Common mistakes with laufen in the Perfekt
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Ich laufe im Park gestern.” Right: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the Perfekt bin gelaufen, not the present laufe. The time word gestern points to the past.
Wrong: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen jeden Tag.” (said of a daily habit) Right: “Ich laufe im Park jeden Tag.” Why: The Perfekt bin gelaufen describes one finished action. For something you do every day, use the present laufe.
Wrong: “Ich im Park gelaufen.” — leaving out the auxiliary Right: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen.” Why: The Perfekt needs both parts: the auxiliary sein and the participle gelaufen. The participle alone is not a complete Perfekt.
Wrong: “Ich lief im Park gestern.” (in everyday speech) Right: “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” Why: The preterite lief is mostly a written tense. In everyday speech, a finished action yesterday takes the Perfekt bin gelaufen.
Quiz: laufen in the Perfekt
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ zum Bahnhof.”
- (A) bin gelaufen
- (B) bist gelaufen
- (C) ist gelaufen
- (D) sind gelaufen
2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ jeden Morgen.”
- (A) bin gelaufen
- (B) ist gelaufen
- (C) sind gelaufen
- (D) bist gelaufen
3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ im Park.”
- (A) sind gelaufen
- (B) ist gelaufen
- (C) bin gelaufen
- (D) bist gelaufen
4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ zum Bahnhof.”
- (A) bin gelaufen
- (B) bist gelaufen
- (C) ist gelaufen
- (D) sind gelaufen
5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ jeden Morgen.”
- (A) seid gelaufen
- (B) bin gelaufen
- (C) bist gelaufen
- (D) ist gelaufen
6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ im Park.”
- (A) bin gelaufen
- (B) bist gelaufen
- (C) ist gelaufen
- (D) sind gelaufen
7. What does laufen mean in English?
- (A) to run
- (B) to run fast
- (C) to jump
- (D) to swim
8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of laufen?
- (A) geschwommen
- (B) gelaufen
- (C) gerannt
- (D) gesprungen
Answer key
- A) bin gelaufen — The ich form is bin gelaufen.
- D) bist gelaufen — The du form is bist gelaufen.
- B) ist gelaufen — The er/sie/es form is ist gelaufen.
- D) sind gelaufen — The wir form is sind gelaufen.
- A) seid gelaufen — The ihr form is seid gelaufen.
- D) sind gelaufen — The sie/Sie form is sind gelaufen.
- A) to run — laufen means “to run”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
- B) gelaufen — The past participle of laufen is gelaufen; the Perfekt is formed with sein + gelaufen.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Perfekt of laufen formed?
With the auxiliary sein in the present plus the past participle gelaufen: ich bin gelaufen, du bist gelaufen, er ist gelaufen, wir sind gelaufen, ihr seid gelaufen, sie sind gelaufen.
When do I use the Perfekt of laufen?
Use the Perfekt for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German — for example, “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” — “I have run in the park yesterday.” For an ongoing or habitual past action, use the preterite in writing instead.
What is the difference between the Perfekt and the preterite of laufen?
The Perfekt reports one finished action in everyday speech; the preterite reports a completed past action in writing and stories. Compare “Ich bin im Park gelaufen gestern.” with “Ich lief im Park gestern.” — the first is spoken, the second is written.
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.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of laufen — every tense of laufen in one place.
- Laufen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Laufen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Rennen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Springen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Schwimmen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise laufen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise laufen with the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise laufen with the interactive tool.