Mögen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Mögen means “to like”, 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 mögen, 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 mögen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich mag Kaffee.” — “I like coffee.”
  2. “Du magst Musik.” — “You like music.”
  3. “Ich habe es gemocht.” — “I have liked it.”
  4. “Er mochte Kaffee.” — “He liked coffee.”
  5. “Wir werden es mögen.” — “We will like it.”
  6. “Du hast es gemocht.” — “You have liked it.”
  7. “Ich möchte Kaffee.” — “I would like coffee.”
  8. “Er möge Musik.” — “He likes music.”
  9. “Wir hatten es gemocht.” — “We had liked it.”
  10. “Er wird es mögen.” — “He will like it.”
  11. “Sie mögen Musik.” — “They like music.”
  12. “Du magst Berlin.” — “You like Berlin.”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Magst du Kaffee?” — “You like coffee?” Jonas: “Ich mag Kaffee.” — “I like coffee.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde es mögen.” — “I will like it.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe es gemocht.” — “I have liked it.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich möchte Kaffee.” — “I would like coffee.”

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.

Mögen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, mögen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is mag: “Ich mag Kaffee.” — “I like coffee.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, mögen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is mochte: “Er mochte Musik.” — “He liked music.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, mögen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gemocht. The ich form is habe gemocht: “Ich habe es gemocht.” — “I have liked it.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, mögen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden mögen: “Wir werden es mögen.” — “We will like it.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, mögen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is möchtest: “Du möchtest Musik.” — “You would like music.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, mögen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is möge: “Er möge Berlin.” — “He likes Berlin.” 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 mögen Kaffee.”

✓ Right: “Ich mag Kaffee.”

The infinitive mögen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form mag.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du mag Kaffee.”

✓ Right: “Du magst Kaffee.”

mag is the ich form. With du you need magst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich mag Kaffee gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemocht.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich mag Kaffee.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich möge Kaffee.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gemocht Kaffee.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemocht.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) magst
    • B) mögen
    • C) mögt
    • D) mag

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

    • A) magst
    • B) mag
    • C) mögen
    • D) mögt

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

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

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

    • A) mochtest
    • B) mochtet
    • C) mochten
    • D) mochte

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

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

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

    • A) möchtet
    • B) möchte
    • C) möchtest
    • D) möchten

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

    • A) möget
    • B) möge
    • C) mögest
    • D) mögen

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of mögen?

    • A) gekommen
    • B) gemocht
    • C) gewusst
    • D) gegangen

  10. What does mögen mean in English?

  • A) to like
  • B) to know
  • C) to go
  • D) to come

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does mögen mean in English?

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

Is mögen regular or irregular?

mögen 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 mögend and the past participle is gemocht.

How do I practise mögen every day?

Say one sentence with mögen 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 mag Kaffee.”, “Ich habe es gemocht.” and “Ich werde es mögen.”. 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 mögen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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