Sagen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Sagen means “to say”, 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 sagen, 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 sagen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.” — “I say the truth to Marie.”
- “Du sagst Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn.” — “You say good morning to my neighbours.”
- “Ich habe ein Wort zu meinem Bruder gesagt.” — “I have said a word to my brother.”
- “Er sagte die Wahrheit zu Marie.” — “He said the truth to Marie.”
- “Wir werden Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn sagen.” — “We will say good morning to my neighbours.”
- “Du hast ein Wort zu meinem Bruder gesagt.” — “You have said a word to my brother.”
- “Ich sagte die Wahrheit zu Marie.” — “I would say the truth to Marie.”
- “Er sage Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn.” — “He says good morning to my neighbours.”
- “Wir hatten ein Wort zu meinem Bruder gesagt.” — “We had said a word to my brother.”
- “Er wird die Wahrheit zu Marie sagen.” — “He will say the truth to Marie.”
- “Sie sagen Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn.” — “They say good morning to my neighbours.”
- “Sag ein Wort zu meinem Bruder!” — “Say a word to my brother!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about the truth to Marie. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how sagen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of sagen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Sagst du die Wahrheit zu Marie?” — “You say the truth to Marie?” Jonas: “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.” — “I say the truth to Marie.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn sagen.” — “I will say good morning to my neighbours.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe ein Wort zu meinem Bruder gesagt.” — “I have said a word to my brother.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich sagte die Wahrheit zu Marie.” — “I would say the truth to Marie.”
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.
Sagen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of sagen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, sagen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is sage: “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.” — “I say the truth to Marie.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, sagen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is sagte: “Er sagte Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn.” — “He said good morning to my neighbours.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, sagen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gesagt. The ich form is habe gesagt: “Ich habe ein Wort zu meinem Bruder gesagt.” — “I have said a word to my brother.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, sagen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden sagen: “Wir werden die Wahrheit zu Marie sagen.” — “We will say the truth to Marie.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, sagen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is sagtest: “Du sagtest Guten Morgen zu meinen Nachbarn.” — “You would say good morning to my neighbours.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, sagen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is sage: “Er sage ein Wort zu meinem Bruder.” — “He says a word to my brother.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich sagen die Wahrheit zu Marie.”
✓ Right: “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.”
The infinitive sagen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form sage.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.”
✓ Right: “Du sagst die Wahrheit zu Marie.”
sage is the ich form. With du you need sagst. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe die Wahrheit zu Marie gesagt.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gesagt, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: sage, not the indicative sage.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gesagt die Wahrheit zu Marie.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe die Wahrheit zu Marie gesagt.”
The Perfekt of sagen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gesagt: the full ich form is habe gesagt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sagen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of sagen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) sage
- B) sagst
- C) sagt
- D) sagen
What is the du form of sagen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) sagt
- B) sagen
- C) sagst
- D) sage
What is the er/sie/es form of sagen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat gesagt
- B) habe gesagt
- C) hast gesagt
- D) haben gesagt
What is the wir form of sagen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) sagtest
- B) sagtet
- C) sagten
- D) sagte
What is the du form of sagen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden sagen
- B) wirst sagen
- C) werde sagen
- D) wird sagen
What is the ich form of sagen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) sagte
- B) sagtest
- C) sagten
- D) sagtet
What is the er/sie/es form of sagen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) sage
- B) sagest
- C) sagen
- D) saget
What is the ich form of sagen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest gesagt
- B) hatten gesagt
- C) hattet gesagt
- D) hatte gesagt
What is the past participle of sagen?
- A) gesehen
- B) gesagt
- C) gemacht
- D) gegeben
What does sagen mean in English?
- A) to say
- B) to make, to do
- C) to give
- D) to see
Answer key
- A) sage — the ich form of sagen in the Present (Präsens) is sage. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) sagst — the du form of sagen in the Present (Präsens) is sagst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hat gesagt — the er/sie/es form of sagen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gesagt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) sagten — the wir form of sagen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is sagten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst sagen — the du form of sagen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst sagen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sagte — the ich form of sagen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is sagte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sage — the er/sie/es form of sagen in the Konjunktiv I is sage. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hatte gesagt — the ich form of sagen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gesagt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) gesagt — the past participle of sagen is gesagt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to say — sagen means “to say” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does sagen mean in English?
sagen means “to say”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is sagen regular or irregular?
sagen is regular in every tense. The present participle is sagend and the past participle is gesagt.
How do I practise sagen every day?
Say one sentence with sagen 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 sage die Wahrheit zu Marie.”, “Ich habe die Wahrheit zu Marie gesagt.” and “Ich werde die Wahrheit zu Marie sagen.”. 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 sagen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sagen — every tense of sagen in one place.
- Sagen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Sagen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Machen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Geben conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Sehen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- 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 Quiz — practise sagen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise sagen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise sagen with the interactive tool.