Sein: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Sein means “to be”, 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 sein, 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 sein, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin.” — “I am a teacher in Berlin.”
  2. “Du bist müde heute.” — “You are tired today.”
  3. “Ich bin heute Abend zu Hause gewesen.” — “I have been at home this evening.”
  4. “Er war Lehrer in Berlin.” — “He was a teacher in Berlin.”
  5. “Wir werden müde heute sein.” — “We will be tired today.”
  6. “Du bist heute Abend zu Hause gewesen.” — “You have been at home this evening.”
  7. “Ich wäre Lehrer in Berlin.” — “I would be a teacher in Berlin.”
  8. “Er sei müde heute.” — “He is tired today.”
  9. “Wir waren heute Abend zu Hause gewesen.” — “We had been at home this evening.”
  10. “Er wird Lehrer in Berlin sein.” — “He will be a teacher in Berlin.”
  11. “Sie sind müde heute.” — “They are tired today.”
  12. “Sei heute Abend zu Hause!” — “Be at home this evening!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Bist du Lehrer in Berlin?” — “You are a teacher in Berlin?” Jonas: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin.” — “I am a teacher in Berlin.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde müde heute sein.” — “I will be tired today.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich bin heute Abend zu Hause gewesen.” — “I have been at home this evening.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich wäre Lehrer in Berlin.” — “I would be a teacher in Berlin.”

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.

Sein in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, sein describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is bin: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin.” — “I am a teacher in Berlin.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, sein describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is war: “Er war müde heute.” — “He was tired today.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, sein reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with sein plus the participle gewesen. The ich form is bin gewesen: “Ich bin heute Abend zu Hause gewesen.” — “I have been at home this evening.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, sein talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden sein: “Wir werden Lehrer in Berlin sein.” — “We will be a teacher in Berlin.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, sein talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is wärst: “Du wärst müde heute.” — “You would be tired today.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, sein appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is sei: “Er sei heute Abend zu Hause.” — “He is at home this evening.” 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 sein Lehrer in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin.”

The infinitive sein never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form bin.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du bin Lehrer in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Du bist Lehrer in Berlin.”

bin is the ich form. With du you need bist. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin gewesen.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich sei Lehrer in Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: sei, not the indicative bin.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewesen Lehrer in Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin gewesen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of sein in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) wären
    • B) wärt
    • C) wäre
    • D) wärst

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

    • A) seist
    • B) seien
    • C) seiet
    • D) sei

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of sein?

    • A) geworden
    • B) gekonnt
    • C) gewesen
    • D) gehabt

  10. What does sein mean in English?

  • A) to become
  • B) to be able to
  • C) to be
  • D) to have

Answer key

  1. D) bin — the ich form of sein in the Present (Präsens) is bin. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) bist — the du form of sein in the Present (Präsens) is bist. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) ist gewesen — the er/sie/es form of sein in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist gewesen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) waren — the wir form of sein in the Preterite (Präteritum) is waren. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) wirst sein — the du form of sein in the Future (Futur I) is wirst sein. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) wäre — the ich form of sein in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is wäre. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sei — the er/sie/es form of sein in the Konjunktiv I is sei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) war gewesen — the ich form of sein in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war gewesen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) gewesen — the past participle of sein is gewesen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to be — sein means “to be” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does sein mean in English?

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

Is sein regular or irregular?

sein is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is seiend and the past participle is gewesen.

How do I practise sein every day?

Say one sentence with sein 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 bin Lehrer in Berlin.”, “Ich bin Lehrer in Berlin gewesen.” and “Ich werde Lehrer in Berlin sein.”. 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 sein, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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