Putzen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Putzen means “to clean”, 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 putzen, 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 putzen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.”
  2. “Du putzt das Haus jeden Tag.” — “You clean the house every day.”
  3. “Ich habe meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “I have cleaned my shoes yesterday.”
  4. “Er putzte die Zähne gestern.” — “He cleaned my teeth yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden das Haus putzen morgen.” — “We will clean the house tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “You have cleaned my shoes yesterday.”
  7. “Ich putzte die Zähne eines Tages.” — “I would clean my teeth one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er putze das Haus.” — “It is important that he clean the house.”
  9. “Wir hatten meine Schuhe geputzt vor der Party.” — “We had cleaned my shoes before the party.”
  10. “Er wird die Zähne putzen morgen.” — “He will clean my teeth tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie putzen das Haus jeden Tag.” — “They clean the house every day.”
  12. “Putz meine Schuhe!” — “Clean my shoes!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du putzt die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “You clean my teeth every day.” Jonas: “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.” Lena: “Du wirst das Haus putzen morgen.” — “You will clean the house tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde das Haus putzen morgen.” — “I will clean the house tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “You have cleaned my shoes yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “I have cleaned my shoes yesterday.” Lena: “Du putztest die Zähne eines Tages.” — “You would clean my teeth one day.” Jonas: “Ich putzte die Zähne eines Tages.” — “I would clean my teeth 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.

Putzen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, putzen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is putze: “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, putzen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is putzte: “Er putzte das Haus gestern.” — “He cleaned the house yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, putzen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geputzt. The ich form is habe geputzt: “Ich habe meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “I have cleaned my shoes yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, putzen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden putzen: “Wir werden die Zähne putzen morgen.” — “We will clean my teeth tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, putzen 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 putztest: “Du putztest das Haus eines Tages.” — “You would clean the house one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, putzen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is putze, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich putze meine Schuhe.” — “It is important that I clean my shoes.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich putzen die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “Ich putze die Zähne.”

The infinitive putzen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form putze.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du putze die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “Du putzt die Zähne.”

putze is the ich form. With du you need putzt. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich putze die Zähne gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Zähne geputzt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du putzt das Haus.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du putzest das Haus.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geputzt die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Zähne geputzt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) putze
    • B) putzt
    • C) putzen
    • D) putzte

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

    • A) putztest
    • B) putzt
    • C) putze
    • D) putzen

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

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

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

    • A) putztest
    • B) putztet
    • C) putzten
    • D) putzte

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

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

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

    • A) putzte
    • B) putztest
    • C) putzten
    • D) putztet

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

    • A) putze
    • B) putzest
    • C) putzen
    • D) putzet

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

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

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

    • A) gebadet
    • B) geputzt
    • C) gewaschen
    • D) geduscht

  10. What does putzen mean in English?

  • A) to shower
  • B) to bathe
  • C) to clean
  • D) to wash

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does putzen mean in English?

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

Is putzen regular or irregular?

putzen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is putzend and Partizip II is geputzt.

How do I practise putzen every day?

Say one sentence with putzen 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 putze die Zähne jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe die Zähne geputzt gestern.” and “Ich werde die Zähne putzen 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 putzen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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