Rennen Conjugation in German
rennen means “to run fast” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 448 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about running fast to the bus, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of rennen — every tense, every person, both participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: rennen
- English: to run fast
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Pattern: mixed
- Separable: no
- Participle I: rennend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gerannt
- Auxiliary: sein (all perfect tenses are formed with sein + the past participle)
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read rennen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about rennen
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use sein: the perfect is formed with sein in the present plus the past participle gerannt. The tables on this page give the participle in the uninflected form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- Partizip I is rennend and Partizip II is gerannt: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because Partizip I appears in adjectival uses and Partizip II appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for rennen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | renne |
| du | rennst |
| er/sie/es | rennt |
| wir | rennen |
| ihr | rennt |
| sie/Sie | rennen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With rennen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich renne schnell in den Park jeden Tag.” — “I run fast quickly into the park every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | rannte |
| du | ranntest |
| er/sie/es | rannte |
| wir | rannten |
| ihr | ranntet |
| sie/Sie | rannten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With rennen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du ranntest schnell in den Park gestern.” — “You ran fast quickly into the park yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin gerannt |
| du | bist gerannt |
| er/sie/es | ist gerannt |
| wir | sind gerannt |
| ihr | seid gerannt |
| sie/Sie | sind gerannt |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er ist schnell in den Park gerannt gestern.” — “He has run fast quickly into the park yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | war gerannt |
| du | warst gerannt |
| er/sie/es | war gerannt |
| wir | waren gerannt |
| ihr | wart gerannt |
| sie/Sie | waren gerannt |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir waren schnell in den Park gerannt vor der Party.” — “We had run fast quickly into the park before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde rennen |
| du | wirst rennen |
| er/sie/es | wird rennen |
| wir | werden rennen |
| ihr | werdet rennen |
| sie/Sie | werden rennen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde schnell in den Park rennen morgen.” — “I will run fast quickly into the park tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gerannt sein |
| du | wirst gerannt sein |
| er/sie/es | wird gerannt sein |
| wir | werden gerannt sein |
| ihr | werdet gerannt sein |
| sie/Sie | werden gerannt sein |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst schnell in den Park gerannt sein bis morgen.” — “You will have run fast quickly into the park by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | renne |
| du | rennest |
| er/sie/es | renne |
| wir | rennen |
| ihr | rennet |
| sie/Sie | rennen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er renne schnell in den Park.” — “It is important that he run fast quickly into the park.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | rennte |
| du | renntest |
| er/sie/es | rennte |
| wir | rennten |
| ihr | renntet |
| sie/Sie | rennten |
Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, hypothetical situations and polite requests. It doubles as the conditional: there is no separate würde tense in the tables, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive is a way of expressing the same meaning, not a tense of its own. For example: “Ich rennte schnell in den Park eines Tages.” — “I would run fast quickly into the park one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wäre gerannt |
| du | wärst gerannt |
| er/sie/es | wäre gerannt |
| wir | wären gerannt |
| ihr | wärt gerannt |
| sie/Sie | wären gerannt |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er wäre schnell in den Park gerannt gestern.” — “He would have run fast quickly into the park yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | renn |
| wir | rennen |
| ihr | rennt |
| sie | rennen |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With rennen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Renn schnell in den Park!” — “Run fast quickly into the park!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | rennend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle rennend describes something that is running fast. The present-tense sentence “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | gerannt |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich bin zum Bus gerannt gestern.” — “I have run fast to the bus yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | rennen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive rennen is the form you look up in a dictionary. In a sentence it appears after a modal verb or with zu, and in the future it follows werden, as in “Ich werde zum Bus rennen morgen.” — “I will run fast to the bus tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with rennen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.”
- “Du ranntest schnell in den Park gestern.” — “You ran fast quickly into the park yesterday.”
- “Er ist zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “He has run fast to school yesterday.”
- “Wir waren zum Bus gerannt vor der Party.” — “We had run fast to the bus before the party.”
- “Ich werde schnell in den Park rennen morgen.” — “I will run fast quickly into the park tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst zur Schule gerannt sein bis morgen.” — “You will have run fast to school by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er renne zum Bus.” — “It is important that he run fast to the bus.”
- “Ich rennte schnell in den Park eines Tages.” — “I would run fast quickly into the park one day.”
- “Er wäre zur Schule gerannt gestern.” — “He would have run fast to school yesterday.”
- “Renn zum Bus!” — “Run fast to the bus!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form renne.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich rennen zum Bus.”
✓ Right: “Ich renne zum Bus.”
rennen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with renne.
3. 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.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich renne zum Bus.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich renne zum Bus.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use renne here, not the indicative renne.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe gerannt zum Bus.”
✓ Right: “bin gerannt zum Bus.”
The Perfekt of rennen is formed with sein plus the past participle gerannt: the ich form is bin gerannt. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich rannte zum Bus jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.”
The preterite rannte describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present renne.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on rennen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of rennen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) renne
- B) rennst
- C) rennt
- D) rennen
What is the du form of rennen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) ranntet
- B) ranntest
- C) rannte
- D) rannten
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
What is the wir form of rennen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) waren gerannt
- B) war gerannt
- C) warst gerannt
- D) wart gerannt
What is the du form of rennen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden rennen
- B) wirst rennen
- C) werde rennen
- D) wird rennen
What is the ich form of rennen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst gerannt sein
- B) wird gerannt sein
- C) werden gerannt sein
- D) werde gerannt sein
What is the er/sie/es form of rennen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) renne
- B) rennest
- C) rennen
- D) rennet
What is the ich form of rennen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) rennte
- B) renntest
- C) rennten
- D) renntet
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of rennen?
- A) schwimmend
- B) fliegend
- C) rennend
- D) springend
What does rennen mean in English?
- A) to swim
- B) to fly
- C) to run fast
- D) to jump
Answer key
- A) renne — the ich form of rennen in the Present (Präsens) is renne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ranntest — the du form of rennen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is ranntest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- A) waren gerannt — the wir form of rennen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is waren gerannt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- D) werde gerannt sein — the ich form of rennen in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde gerannt sein. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- A) rennte — the ich form of rennen in the Konjunktiv II is rennte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) rennend — the present participle (Partizip I) of rennen is rennend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is rennend and Partizip II is gerannt.
What are the participles of rennen?
Partizip I is rennend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is gerannt — use it with sein for the perfect tenses, as in bin gerannt.
Which auxiliary does rennen take in the Perfekt?
rennen takes sein in the Perfekt: the ich form is bin gerannt. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with sein plus the past participle gerannt.
How do I say “I run fast” in German?
Say “Ich renne zum Bus jeden Tag.” — “I run fast to the bus every day.” The ich form of the present is renne, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of rennen — every tense of rennen in one place.
- Rennen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Rennen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Springen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Schwimmen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Fliegen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise rennen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise rennen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise rennen with the interactive tool.