Schreien: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Schreien means “to shout”, 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 schreien, 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 schreien, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.”
  2. “Du schreist vor Freude im Park jeden Tag.” — “You shout with joy in the park every day.”
  3. “Ich habe nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “I have shouted for help in the street yesterday.”
  4. “Er schrie laut im Garten gestern.” — “He shouted loudly in the garden yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden vor Freude im Park schreien morgen.” — “We will shout with joy in the park tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “You have shouted for help in the street yesterday.”
  7. “Ich schriee laut im Garten eines Tages.” — “I would shout loudly in the garden one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er schreie vor Freude im Park.” — “It is important that he shout with joy in the park.”
  9. “Wir hatten nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien vor der Party.” — “We had shouted for help in the street before the party.”
  10. “Er wird laut im Garten schreien morgen.” — “He will shout loudly in the garden tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie schreien vor Freude im Park jeden Tag.” — “They shout with joy in the park every day.”
  12. “Schrei nach Hilfe auf der Straße!” — “Shout for help in the street!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du schreist laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “You shout loudly in the garden every day.” Jonas: “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.” Lena: “Du wirst vor Freude im Park schreien morgen.” — “You will shout with joy in the park tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde vor Freude im Park schreien morgen.” — “I will shout with joy in the park tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “You have shouted for help in the street yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “I have shouted for help in the street yesterday.” Lena: “Du schrieest laut im Garten eines Tages.” — “You would shout loudly in the garden one day.” Jonas: “Ich schriee laut im Garten eines Tages.” — “I would shout loudly in the garden 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.

Schreien in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, schreien describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is schreie: “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, schreien describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is schrie: “Er schrie vor Freude im Park gestern.” — “He shouted with joy in the park yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, schreien reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geschrien. The ich form is habe geschrien: “Ich habe nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “I have shouted for help in the street yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, schreien talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden schreien: “Wir werden laut im Garten schreien morgen.” — “We will shout loudly in the garden tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, schreien 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 schrieest: “Du schrieest vor Freude im Park eines Tages.” — “You would shout with joy in the park one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, schreien appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is schreie, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schreie nach Hilfe auf der Straße.” — “It is important that I shout for help in the street.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich schreien laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Ich schreie laut im Garten.”

The infinitive schreien never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form schreie.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du schreie laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Du schreist laut im Garten.”

schreie is the ich form. With du you need schreist. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich schreie laut im Garten gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe laut im Garten geschrien gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schreist vor Freude im Park.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schreiest vor Freude im Park.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geschrien laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe laut im Garten geschrien.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) schreien
    • B) schreie
    • C) schreist
    • D) schreit

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

    • A) schreie
    • B) schreit
    • C) schreien
    • D) schreist

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

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

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

    • A) schrie
    • B) schriest
    • C) schriet
    • D) schrieen

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

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

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

    • A) schrieet
    • B) schriee
    • C) schrieest
    • D) schrieen

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

    • A) schreiet
    • B) schreie
    • C) schreiest
    • D) schreien

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

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

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

    • A) geschrien
    • B) geflüstert
    • C) geredet
    • D) erzählt

  10. What does schreien mean in English?

  • A) to talk
  • B) to tell
  • C) to shout
  • D) to whisper

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does schreien mean in English?

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

Is schreien regular or irregular?

schreien is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is schreiend and Partizip II is geschrien.

How do I practise schreien every day?

Say one sentence with schreien 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 schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe laut im Garten geschrien gestern.” and “Ich werde laut im Garten schreien 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 schreien, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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