Rennen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Rennen means “to run fast”, 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 rennen, 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 rennen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.”
  2. “Du rennst schnell in den Park jeden Tag.” — “You run fast quickly into the park every day.”
  3. “Ich bin zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “I have run fast to school yesterday.”
  4. “Er rannte zum Bus gestern.” — “He ran fast to the bus yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden schnell in den Park rennen morgen.” — “We will run fast quickly into the park tomorrow.”
  6. “Du bist zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “You have run fast to school yesterday.”
  7. “Ich rennte zum Bus eines Tages.” — “I would run fast to the bus one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er renne schnell in den Park.” — “It is important that he run fast quickly into the park.”
  9. “Wir waren zur Schule gerannt vor der Party.” — “We had run fast to school before the party.”
  10. “Er wird zum Bus rennen morgen.” — “He will run fast to the bus tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie rennen schnell in den Park jeden Tag.” — “They run fast quickly into the park every day.”
  12. “Renn zur Schule!” — “Run fast to school!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du rennst zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “You run fast to the bus every day.” Jonas: “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.” Lena: “Du wirst schnell in den Park rennen morgen.” — “You will run fast quickly into the park tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde schnell in den Park rennen morgen.” — “I will run fast quickly into the park tomorrow.” Lena: “Du bist zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “You have run fast to school yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich bin zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “I have run fast to school yesterday.” Lena: “Du renntest zum Bus eines Tages.” — “You would run fast to the bus one day.” Jonas: “Ich rennte zum Bus eines Tages.” — “I would run fast to the bus 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.

Rennen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, rennen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is renne: “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, rennen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is rannte: “Er rannte schnell in den Park gestern.” — “He ran fast quickly into the park yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, rennen reports one finished action, built with sein plus the participle gerannt. The ich form is bin gerannt: “Ich bin zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “I have run fast to school yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, rennen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden rennen: “Wir werden zum Bus rennen morgen.” — “We will run fast to the bus tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, rennen 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 renntest: “Du renntest schnell in den Park eines Tages.” — “You would run fast quickly into the park one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, rennen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is renne, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich renne zur Schule.” — “It is important that I run fast to school.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich rennen zum Bus.”

✓ Right: “Ich renne zum Bus.”

The infinitive rennen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form renne.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du renne zum Bus.”

✓ Right: “Du rennst zum Bus.”

renne is the ich form. With du you need rennst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich renne zum Bus gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin zum Bus gerannt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du rennst schnell in den Park.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du rennest schnell in den Park.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gerannt zum Bus.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin zum Bus gerannt.”

The Perfekt of rennen needs the auxiliary sein plus the participle gerannt: the full ich form is bin gerannt.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) renne
    • B) rennst
    • C) rennt
    • D) rennen

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

    • A) rennt
    • B) rennen
    • C) rennst
    • D) renne

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

    • A) sind gerannt
    • B) ist gerannt
    • C) bin gerannt
    • D) bist gerannt

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

    • A) ranntest
    • B) ranntet
    • C) rannten
    • D) rannte

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

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

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

    • A) rennte
    • B) renntest
    • C) rennten
    • D) renntet

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

    • A) renne
    • B) rennest
    • C) rennen
    • D) rennet

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

    • A) warst gerannt
    • B) waren gerannt
    • C) wart gerannt
    • D) war gerannt

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

    • A) geflogen
    • B) gerannt
    • C) gesprungen
    • D) geschwommen

  10. What does rennen mean in English?

  • A) to swim
  • B) to fly
  • C) to run fast
  • D) to jump

Answer key

  1. A) renne — the ich form of rennen in the Present (Präsens) is renne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) rennst — the du form of rennen in the Present (Präsens) is rennst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) ist gerannt — the er/sie/es form of rennen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist gerannt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) rannten — the wir form of rennen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is rannten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) wirst rennen — the du form of rennen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst rennen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) rennte — the ich form of rennen in the Konjunktiv II is rennte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) renne — the er/sie/es form of rennen in the Konjunktiv I is renne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) war gerannt — the ich form of rennen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war gerannt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) gerannt — the past participle of rennen is gerannt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to run fast — rennen means “to run fast” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does rennen mean in English?

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

Is rennen regular or irregular?

rennen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is rennend and Partizip II is gerannt.

How do I practise rennen every day?

Say one sentence with rennen 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 renne zum Bus jeden Tag.”, “Ich bin zum Bus gerannt gestern.” and “Ich werde zum Bus rennen 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 rennen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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