Reden: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Reden means “to talk”, 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 reden, 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 reden, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.”
  2. “Du redest mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “You talk with my family about the holiday every day.”
  3. “Ich habe mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “I have talked with my brother about the film yesterday.”
  4. “Er redete mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter gestern.” — “He talked with my friends about the weather yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub reden morgen.” — “We will talk with my family about the holiday tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “You have talked with my brother about the film yesterday.”
  7. “Ich redete mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter eines Tages.” — “I would talk with my friends about the weather one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er rede mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub.” — “It is important that he talk with my family about the holiday.”
  9. “Wir hatten mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet vor der Party.” — “We had talked with my brother about the film before the party.”
  10. “Er wird mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter reden morgen.” — “He will talk with my friends about the weather tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie reden mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “They talk with my family about the holiday every day.”
  12. “Rede mit meinem Bruder über den Film!” — “Talk with my brother about the film!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du redest mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “You talk with my friends about the weather every day.” Jonas: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.” Lena: “Du wirst mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub reden morgen.” — “You will talk with my family about the holiday tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub reden morgen.” — “I will talk with my family about the holiday tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “You have talked with my brother about the film yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “I have talked with my brother about the film yesterday.” Lena: “Du redetest mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter eines Tages.” — “You would talk with my friends about the weather one day.” Jonas: “Ich redete mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter eines Tages.” — “I would talk with my friends about the weather 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.

Reden in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, reden describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is rede: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, reden describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is redete: “Er redete mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub gestern.” — “He talked with my family about the holiday yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, reden reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geredet. The ich form is habe geredet: “Ich habe mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “I have talked with my brother about the film yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, reden talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden reden: “Wir werden mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter reden morgen.” — “We will talk with my friends about the weather tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, reden 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 redetest: “Du redetest mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub eines Tages.” — “You would talk with my family about the holiday one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, reden appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is rede, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich rede mit meinem Bruder über den Film.” — “It is important that I talk with my brother about the film.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich reden mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

The infinitive reden never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form rede.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Du redest mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

rede is the ich form. With du you need redest. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter geredet gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du redest mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du redest mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geredet mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter geredet.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) rede
    • B) redest
    • C) redet
    • D) reden

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

    • A) reden
    • B) redest
    • C) rede
    • D) redet

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

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

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

    • A) redetet
    • B) redeten
    • C) redete
    • D) redetest

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

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

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

    • A) redetest
    • B) redeten
    • C) redetet
    • D) redete

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

    • A) rede
    • B) redest
    • C) reden
    • D) redet

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

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

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

    • A) geredet
    • B) erzählt
    • C) geerklärt
    • D) diskutiert

  10. What does reden mean in English?

  • A) to discuss
  • B) to talk
  • C) to tell
  • D) to explain

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does reden mean in English?

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

Is reden regular or irregular?

reden is regular in every tense. Partizip I is redend and Partizip II is geredet.

How do I practise reden every day?

Say one sentence with reden 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 rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter geredet gestern.” and “Ich werde mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter reden 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 reden, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages