Senden Perfekt Tense Conjugation in German
The Perfekt of senden — “to send” — is the tense you need for finished actions in the past: what you did yesterday, what happened last week, what has just finished. It is formed with haben in the present + the past participle gesandt, so once you know the participle you can build every person. This page gives you the complete Perfekt table for senden, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the Präteritum, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “I have sent an email to the boss.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for senden, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Perfekt Tense conjugation of senden
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for senden. The Perfekt is a compound tense: haben in the present + the past participle gesandt. The participle never changes in the table below — the tables give the single uninflected participle form, and the auxiliary carries the person.
Perfect (Perfekt) — senden
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gesandt |
| du | hast gesandt |
| er/sie/es | hat gesandt |
| wir | haben gesandt |
| ihr | habt gesandt |
| sie/Sie | haben gesandt |
The present participle of senden is sendend and the past participle is gesandt. You need the participle for the perfect tenses, and the present participle for adjectival use.
How the Perfekt of senden is formed
Take the present tense of the auxiliary haben and add the past participle gesandt: ich → habe gesandt, du → hast gesandt, er/sie/es → hat gesandt, wir → haben gesandt, ihr → habt gesandt, sie/Sie → haben gesandt. So senden gives habe gesandt, hast gesandt, hat gesandt, haben gesandt, habt gesandt, haben gesandt. senden takes haben, the default auxiliary. The past participle stays invariable in the Perfekt: it does not agree with the subject, so gesandt is the same for every person. A note on the participle: gesandt is the only past participle for senden in the verified tables. Do not invent a second participle, and do not borrow the participle of a similar verb.
When to use the Perfekt of senden
1. A finished event in the past
Use the Perfekt for a finished event in the past. For example, with senden: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “I have sent an email to the boss.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. Something that has just happened
Use the Perfekt for something that has just happened. For example, with senden: “Du hast eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “You have sent an email to the boss.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. A sequence of past events
Use the Perfekt for a sequence of past events. For example, with senden: “Er hat eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “He has sent an email to the boss.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Life experience up to now
Use the Perfekt for life experience up to now. For example, with senden: “Wir haben eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “We have sent an email to the boss.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. A past event with a definite time
Use the Perfekt for a past event with a definite time. For example, with senden: “Ihr habt eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “You have sent an email to the boss.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Perfekt vs Präteritum: senden in speech and in writing
The Perfekt and the Präteritum both talk about the past, but they are not interchangeable in register. The Perfekt is the tense of spoken German: what you say in conversation. The Präteritum is the tense of written narration: stories, reports and formal writing. Compare the pairs below — the Perfekt form comes from this page, the Präteritum form from the full conjugation table.
Perfekt (spoken): “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “I have sent an email to the boss.”
Präteritum (written): “Ich sandte eine E-Mail an den Chef.” — “I sent an email to the boss.”
Perfekt (spoken): “Du hast eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “You have sent an email to the boss.”
Präteritum (written): “Du sandtest eine E-Mail an den Chef.” — “You sent an email to the boss.”
Perfekt (spoken): “Wir haben eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “We have sent an email to the boss.”
Präteritum (written): “Wir sandten eine E-Mail an den Chef.” — “We sent an email to the boss.”
Example sentences: senden in the Perfekt
Six sentences using only the Perfekt of senden, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “I have sent an email to the boss.”
- “Du hast eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “You have sent an email to the boss.”
- “Er hat eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “He has sent an email to the boss.”
- “Wir haben eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “We have sent an email to the boss.”
- “Ihr habt eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “You have sent an email to the boss.”
- “Sie haben eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.” — “They have sent an email to the boss.”
Common mistakes with senden in the Perfekt
1. Using the wrong auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.”
With senden the Perfekt takes haben, not sein. The correct form is habe gesandt.
2. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich sende eine E-Mail an den Chef.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe gesandt), not the present.
3. Using the Präteritum for a single finished event in speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich sandte eine E-Mail an den Chef.” (in conversation)
✓ Right: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.”
In spoken German a single finished event yesterday takes the Perfekt. The Präteritum belongs in written narration.
4. Guessing a regular participle
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesendt.” (a guessed regular participle)
✓ Right: “Ich habe eine E-Mail an den Chef gesandt.”
senden is a mixed verb: its participle is gesandt, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.
Quiz: senden in the Perfekt
What is the ich form of senden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben gesandt
- B) habe gesandt
- C) hast gesandt
- D) hat gesandt
What is the du form of senden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habt gesandt
- B) hat gesandt
- C) haben gesandt
- D) hast gesandt
What is the er/sie/es form of senden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben gesandt
- B) hast gesandt
- C) habe gesandt
- D) hat gesandt
What is the wir form of senden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gesandt
- B) haben gesandt
- C) hast gesandt
- D) hat gesandt
What is the ihr form of senden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hast gesandt
- B) haben gesandt
- C) habt gesandt
- D) hat gesandt
What is the sie/Sie form of senden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hast gesandt
- B) habe gesandt
- C) haben gesandt
- D) habt gesandt
What is the past participle of senden?
- A) sandte
- B) sende
- C) gesandt
- D) sendend
Which auxiliary does senden take in the Perfekt?
- A) sein
- B) haben
- C) werden
Answer key
- B) habe gesandt — the ich form of senden in the Perfekt is habe gesandt.
- D) hast gesandt — the du form of senden in the Perfekt is hast gesandt.
- D) hat gesandt — the er/sie/es form of senden in the Perfekt is hat gesandt.
- B) haben gesandt — the wir form of senden in the Perfekt is haben gesandt.
- C) habt gesandt — the ihr form of senden in the Perfekt is habt gesandt.
- C) haben gesandt — the sie/Sie form of senden in the Perfekt is haben gesandt.
- C) gesandt — the past participle of senden is gesandt; the Perfekt uses haben + gesandt.
- B) haben — senden takes haben in the Perfekt: habe gesandt.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Perfekt of senden formed?
With haben in the present + the past participle gesandt: ich → habe gesandt, du → hast gesandt, er/sie/es → hat gesandt. The full table is above, and the German Perfekt tense guide explains the pattern for all verbs.
Is senden regular in the Perfekt?
Yes — senden is regular in the Perfekt: the forms follow the standard pattern. The full picture, including the irregular tenses if any, is on the full conjugation page.
What is the past participle of senden?
The past participle is gesandt. Use it with haben for the Perfekt, as in habe gesandt, and with haben in the past for the Plusquamperfekt, as in hatte gesandt.
Related pages
- senden conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- senden examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise senden with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise senden with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.