Schwimmen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Schwimmen means “to swim”, 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 schwimmen, 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 schwimmen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich schwimme im See jeden Tag.” — “I swim in the lake every day.”
  2. “Du schwimmst im Meer jeden Tag.” — “You swim in the sea every day.”
  3. “Ich bin im Schwimmbad geschwommen gestern.” — “I have swum in the swimming pool yesterday.”
  4. “Er schwamm im See gestern.” — “He swam in the lake yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden im Meer schwimmen morgen.” — “We will swim in the sea tomorrow.”
  6. “Du bist im Schwimmbad geschwommen gestern.” — “You have swum in the swimming pool yesterday.”
  7. “Ich schwämme im See eines Tages.” — “I would swim in the lake one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er schwimme im Meer.” — “It is important that he swim in the sea.”
  9. “Wir waren im Schwimmbad geschwommen vor der Party.” — “We had swum in the swimming pool before the party.”
  10. “Er wird im See schwimmen morgen.” — “He will swim in the lake tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie schwimmen im Meer jeden Tag.” — “They swim in the sea every day.”
  12. “Schwimm im Schwimmbad!” — “Swim in the swimming pool!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du schwimmst im See jeden Tag.” — “You swim in the lake every day.” Jonas: “Ich schwimme im See jeden Tag.” — “I swim in the lake every day.” Lena: “Du wirst im Meer schwimmen morgen.” — “You will swim in the sea tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde im Meer schwimmen morgen.” — “I will swim in the sea tomorrow.” Lena: “Du bist im Schwimmbad geschwommen gestern.” — “You have swum in the swimming pool yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich bin im Schwimmbad geschwommen gestern.” — “I have swum in the swimming pool yesterday.” Lena: “Du schwämmest im See eines Tages.” — “You would swim in the lake one day.” Jonas: “Ich schwämme im See eines Tages.” — “I would swim in the lake 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.

Schwimmen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, schwimmen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is schwimme: “Ich schwimme im See jeden Tag.” — “I swim in the lake every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, schwimmen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is schwamm: “Er schwamm im Meer gestern.” — “He swam in the sea yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, schwimmen reports one finished action, built with sein plus the participle geschwommen. The ich form is bin geschwommen: “Ich bin im Schwimmbad geschwommen gestern.” — “I have swum in the swimming pool yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, schwimmen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden schwimmen: “Wir werden im See schwimmen morgen.” — “We will swim in the lake tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, schwimmen 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 schwämmest: “Du schwämmest im Meer eines Tages.” — “You would swim in the sea one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, schwimmen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is schwimme, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schwimme im Schwimmbad.” — “It is important that I swim in the swimming pool.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich schwimmen im See.”

✓ Right: “Ich schwimme im See.”

The infinitive schwimmen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form schwimme.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du schwimme im See.”

✓ Right: “Du schwimmst im See.”

schwimme is the ich form. With du you need schwimmst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich schwimme im See gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin im See geschwommen gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schwimmst im Meer.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schwimmest im Meer.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: schwimmest, not the indicative schwimmst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geschwommen im See.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin im See geschwommen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) schwimmst
    • B) schwimmt
    • C) schwimmen
    • D) schwimme

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

    • A) schwimmen
    • B) schwimmst
    • C) schwimme
    • D) schwimmt

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

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

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

    • A) schwammt
    • B) schwammen
    • C) schwamm
    • D) schwammst

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

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

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

    • A) schwämme
    • B) schwämmest
    • C) schwämmen
    • D) schwämmet

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

    • A) schwimmest
    • B) schwimmen
    • C) schwimmet
    • D) schwimme

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

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

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

    • A) geflogen
    • B) getanzt
    • C) gesungen
    • D) geschwommen

  10. What does schwimmen mean in English?

  • A) to sing
  • B) to swim
  • C) to fly
  • D) to dance

Answer key

  1. D) schwimme — the ich form of schwimmen in the Present (Präsens) is schwimme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) schwimmst — the du form of schwimmen in the Present (Präsens) is schwimmst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ist geschwommen — the er/sie/es form of schwimmen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist geschwommen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) schwammen — the wir form of schwimmen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is schwammen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) wirst schwimmen — the du form of schwimmen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst schwimmen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) schwämme — the ich form of schwimmen in the Konjunktiv II is schwämme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) schwimme — the er/sie/es form of schwimmen in the Konjunktiv I is schwimme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) war geschwommen — the ich form of schwimmen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war geschwommen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) geschwommen — the past participle of schwimmen is geschwommen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to swim — schwimmen means “to swim” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does schwimmen mean in English?

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

Is schwimmen regular or irregular?

schwimmen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is schwimmend and Partizip II is geschwommen.

How do I practise schwimmen every day?

Say one sentence with schwimmen 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 schwimme im See jeden Tag.”, “Ich bin im See geschwommen gestern.” and “Ich werde im See schwimmen 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 schwimmen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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