Singen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Singen means “to sing”, 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 singen, 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 singen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.”
- “Du singst im Chor jeden Tag.” — “You sing in the choir every day.”
- “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “I have sung with my friends yesterday.”
- “Er sang ein Lied gestern.” — “He sang a song yesterday.”
- “Wir werden im Chor singen morgen.” — “We will sing in the choir tomorrow.”
- “Du hast mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “You have sung with my friends yesterday.”
- “Ich sänge ein Lied eines Tages.” — “I would sing a song one day.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er singe im Chor.” — “It is important that he sing in the choir.”
- “Wir hatten mit meinen Freunden gesungen vor der Party.” — “We had sung with my friends before the party.”
- “Er wird ein Lied singen morgen.” — “He will sing a song tomorrow.”
- “Sie singen im Chor jeden Tag.” — “They sing in the choir every day.”
- “Sing mit meinen Freunden!” — “Sing with my friends!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about a song. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how singen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of singen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Du singst ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “You sing a song every day.” Jonas: “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.” Lena: “Du wirst im Chor singen morgen.” — “You will sing in the choir tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde im Chor singen morgen.” — “I will sing in the choir tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “You have sung with my friends yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “I have sung with my friends yesterday.” Lena: “Du sängest ein Lied eines Tages.” — “You would sing a song one day.” Jonas: “Ich sänge ein Lied eines Tages.” — “I would sing a song 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.
Singen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of singen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, singen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is singe: “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.”
The preterite: the past in stories
In the preterite, singen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is sang: “Er sang im Chor gestern.” — “He sang in the choir yesterday.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, singen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gesungen. The ich form is habe gesungen: “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “I have sung with my friends yesterday.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, singen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden singen: “Wir werden ein Lied singen morgen.” — “We will sing a song tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, singen 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 sängest: “Du sängest im Chor eines Tages.” — “You would sing in the choir one day.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In Konjunktiv I, singen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is singe, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich singe mit meinen Freunden.” — “It is important that I sing with my friends.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich singen ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “Ich singe ein Lied.”
The infinitive singen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form singe.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du singe ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “Du singst ein Lied.”
singe is the ich form. With du you need singst. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich singe ein Lied gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Lied gesungen gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gesungen, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du singst im Chor.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du singest im Chor.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: singest, not the indicative singst.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gesungen ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Lied gesungen.”
The Perfekt of singen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gesungen: the full ich form is habe gesungen.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on singen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of singen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) singt
- B) singen
- C) singe
- D) singst
What is the du form of singen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) singst
- B) singe
- C) singt
- D) singen
What is the er/sie/es form of singen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gesungen
- B) hast gesungen
- C) haben gesungen
- D) hat gesungen
What is the wir form of singen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) sangen
- B) sang
- C) sangst
- D) sangt
What is the du form of singen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde singen
- B) wird singen
- C) werden singen
- D) wirst singen
What is the ich form of singen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) sängest
- B) sängen
- C) sänget
- D) sänge
What is the er/sie/es form of singen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) singen
- B) singet
- C) singe
- D) singest
What is the ich form of singen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gesungen
- B) hattet gesungen
- C) hatte gesungen
- D) hattest gesungen
What is the past participle (Partizip II) of singen?
- A) gesungen
- B) gekocht
- C) geputzt
- D) gewaschen
What does singen mean in English?
- A) to sing
- B) to cook
- C) to clean
- D) to wash
Answer key
- C) singe — the ich form of singen in the Present (Präsens) is singe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) singst — the du form of singen in the Present (Präsens) is singst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gesungen — the er/sie/es form of singen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gesungen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sangen — the wir form of singen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is sangen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) wirst singen — the du form of singen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst singen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sänge — the ich form of singen in the Konjunktiv II is sänge. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) singe — the er/sie/es form of singen in the Konjunktiv I is singe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hatte gesungen — the ich form of singen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gesungen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) gesungen — the past participle of singen is gesungen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to sing — singen means “to sing” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does singen mean in English?
singen means “to sing”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is singen regular or irregular?
singen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is singend and Partizip II is gesungen.
How do I practise singen every day?
Say one sentence with singen 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 singe ein Lied jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe ein Lied gesungen gestern.” and “Ich werde ein Lied singen 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 singen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of singen — every tense of singen in one place.
- Singen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Singen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Kochen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Putzen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Waschen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise singen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise singen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise singen with the interactive tool.