Schließen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Schließen means “to close”, 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 schließen, 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 schließen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich schließe die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I close the door every day.”
  2. “Du schließt das Fenster jeden Tag.” — “You close the window every day.”
  3. “Ich habe den Laden geschlossen gestern.” — “I have closed the shop yesterday.”
  4. “Er schloss die Tür gestern.” — “He closed the door yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden das Fenster schließen morgen.” — “We will close the window tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast den Laden geschlossen gestern.” — “You have closed the shop yesterday.”
  7. “Ich schlösse die Tür eines Tages.” — “I would close the door one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er schließe das Fenster.” — “It is important that he close the window.”
  9. “Wir hatten den Laden geschlossen vor der Party.” — “We had closed the shop before the party.”
  10. “Er wird die Tür schließen morgen.” — “He will close the door tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie schließen das Fenster jeden Tag.” — “They close the window every day.”
  12. “Schließ den Laden!” — “Close the shop!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du schließt die Tür jeden Tag.” — “You close the door every day.” Jonas: “Ich schließe die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I close the door every day.” Lena: “Du wirst das Fenster schließen morgen.” — “You will close the window tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde das Fenster schließen morgen.” — “I will close the window tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast den Laden geschlossen gestern.” — “You have closed the shop yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe den Laden geschlossen gestern.” — “I have closed the shop yesterday.” Lena: “Du schlössest die Tür eines Tages.” — “You would close the door one day.” Jonas: “Ich schlösse die Tür eines Tages.” — “I would close the door 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.

Schließen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, schließen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is schließe: “Ich schließe die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I close the door every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, schließen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is schloss: “Er schloss das Fenster gestern.” — “He closed the window yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, schließen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geschlossen. The ich form is habe geschlossen: “Ich habe den Laden geschlossen gestern.” — “I have closed the shop yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, schließen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden schließen: “Wir werden die Tür schließen morgen.” — “We will close the door tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, schließen 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 schlössest: “Du schlössest das Fenster eines Tages.” — “You would close the window one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, schließen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is schließe, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schließe den Laden.” — “It is important that I close the shop.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich schließen die Tür.”

✓ Right: “Ich schließe die Tür.”

The infinitive schließen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form schließe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du schließe die Tür.”

✓ Right: “Du schließt die Tür.”

schließe is the ich form. With du you need schließt. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich schließe die Tür gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Tür geschlossen gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schließt das Fenster.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schließest das Fenster.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geschlossen die Tür.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Tür geschlossen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) schließe
    • B) schließt
    • C) schließen
    • D) schloss

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

    • A) schlossest
    • B) schließt
    • C) schließe
    • D) schließen

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

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

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

    • A) schlossest
    • B) schlosst
    • C) schlossen
    • D) schloss

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

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

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

    • A) schlösset
    • B) schlösse
    • C) schlössest
    • D) schlössen

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

    • A) schließe
    • B) schließest
    • C) schließen
    • D) schließet

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

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

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

    • A) gerannt
    • B) gesprungen
    • C) geschlossen
    • D) gelaufen

  10. What does schließen mean in English?

  • A) to run
  • B) to run fast
  • C) to jump
  • D) to close

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does schließen mean in English?

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

Is schließen regular or irregular?

schließen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is schließend and Partizip II is geschlossen.

How do I practise schließen every day?

Say one sentence with schließen 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 schließe die Tür jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe die Tür geschlossen gestern.” and “Ich werde die Tür schließen 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 schließen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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