Putzen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Putzen means “to clean”, and this page covers exactly one thing: putzen in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for putzen, 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 putzen in the present. For example: “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of putzen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Putzen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich putze
du putzt
er/sie/es putzt
wir putzen
ihr putzt
sie/Sie putzen

Partizip I: putzend · Partizip II: geputzt

The present participle is putzend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is geputzt, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe geputzt, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how putzen is used.

How the Präsens of putzen is formed

The present of putzen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich putze, du putzt, er/sie/es putzt, wir putzen, ihr putzt, sie/Sie putzen. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I putzend and Partizip II geputzt belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise putzen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of putzen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use putzen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Cleaning my teeth — the everyday use

Putzen is the verb for cleaning my teeth. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.”

2. Cleaning the house — a second everyday use

Putzen also covers cleaning the house. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du putzt das Haus jeden Tag.” — “You clean the house every day.”

3. Cleaning my shoes — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use putzen for cleaning my shoes. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er putzt meine Schuhe jeden Tag.” — “He cleans my shoes every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and putzen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir putzen die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “We clean my teeth every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with putzen in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr putzt das Haus jeden Tag.” — “You clean the house every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens 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 present describes habits and facts that are true now. 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 Präsens 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.

  • Present: “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich putzte die Zähne gestern.” — “I cleaned my teeth yesterday.”

  • The Präsens 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.

  • Present: “Du putzt das Haus jeden Tag.” — “You clean the house every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du putztest das Haus gestern.” — “You cleaned the house yesterday.”

  • The Präsens 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.

  • Present: “Wir putzen meine Schuhe jeden Tag.” — “We clean my shoes every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir putzten meine Schuhe gestern.” — “We cleaned my shoes yesterday.”

  • The Präsens 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: putzen in the Präsens

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.

  1. “Ich putze das Haus jeden Tag.” — “I clean the house every day.”

  2. “Du putzt meine Schuhe jeden Tag.” — “You clean my shoes every day.”

  3. “Er putzt die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “He cleans my teeth every day.”

  4. “Wir putzen das Haus jeden Tag.” — “We clean the house every day.”

  5. “Ihr putzt meine Schuhe jeden Tag.” — “You clean my shoes every day.”

  6. “Sie putzen die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “They clean my teeth every day.”

  7. “Ich putze das Haus jeden Tag.” — “I clean the house every day.”

  8. “Du putzt meine Schuhe jeden Tag.” — “You clean my shoes every day.”

Common mistakes with putzen in the Präsens

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 putzen die Zähne.” Right: “Ich putze die Zähne.” Why: The ich form is putze, not putzen. Putzen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir putzen die Zähne.” Right: “Wir putzen die Zähne.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: putzen, not putzen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich putzen die Zähne.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich putze die Zähne.” Why: The infinitive putzen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form putze.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich putze die Zähne.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich putze die Zähne.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use putze here, not the indicative putze.

Quiz: putzen in the Präsens

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 ______ das Haus.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ meine Schuhe.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ die Zähne.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ das Haus.”

  • (A) putzt
  • (B) putzten
  • (C) putzen
  • (D) putze

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ meine Schuhe.”

  • (A) putztet
  • (B) putzt
  • (C) putze
  • (D) putzen

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ die Zähne.”

  • (A) putzt
  • (B) putzten
  • (C) putzen
  • (D) putze

7. What does putzen mean in English?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. A) putze — The ich form is putze.
  2. B) putzt — The du form is putzt.
  3. B) putzt — The er/sie/es form is putzt.
  4. C) putzen — The wir form is putzen.
  5. B) putzt — The ihr form is putzt.
  6. C) putzen — The sie/Sie form is putzen.
  7. C) to clean — putzen means “to clean”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) geputzt — The past participle of putzen is geputzt; the Präsens is formed with haben + geputzt.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of putzen formed?

The present of putzen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich putze, du putzt, er putzt, wir putzen, ihr putzt, sie putzen.

When do I use the present of putzen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of putzen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” with “Ich putzte die Zähne gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

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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