Sorgen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Sorgen means “to worry”, 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 sorgen, 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 sorgen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.”
  2. “Du sorgst für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the food every day.”
  3. “Ich habe für die Kinder gesorgt gestern.” — “I have worried for the children yesterday.”
  4. “Er sorgte für meine Familie gestern.” — “He worried for my family yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden für das Essen sorgen morgen.” — “We will worry for the food tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast für die Kinder gesorgt gestern.” — “You have worried for the children yesterday.”
  7. “Ich sorgte für meine Familie eines Tages.” — “I would worry for my family one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er sorge für das Essen.” — “It is important that he worry for the food.”
  9. “Wir hatten für die Kinder gesorgt vor der Party.” — “We had worried for the children before the party.”
  10. “Er wird für meine Familie sorgen morgen.” — “He will worry for my family tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie sorgen für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “They worry for the food every day.”
  12. “Sorg für die Kinder!” — “Worry for the children!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du sorgst für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “You worry for my family every day.” Jonas: “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.” Lena: “Du wirst für das Essen sorgen morgen.” — “You will worry for the food tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde für das Essen sorgen morgen.” — “I will worry for the food tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast für die Kinder gesorgt gestern.” — “You have worried for the children yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe für die Kinder gesorgt gestern.” — “I have worried for the children yesterday.” Lena: “Du sorgtest für meine Familie eines Tages.” — “You would worry for my family one day.” Jonas: “Ich sorgte für meine Familie eines Tages.” — “I would worry for my family 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.

Sorgen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, sorgen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is sorge: “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, sorgen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is sorgte: “Er sorgte für das Essen gestern.” — “He worried for the food yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, sorgen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gesorgt. The ich form is habe gesorgt: “Ich habe für die Kinder gesorgt gestern.” — “I have worried for the children yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, sorgen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden sorgen: “Wir werden für meine Familie sorgen morgen.” — “We will worry for my family tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, sorgen 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 sorgtest: “Du sorgtest für das Essen eines Tages.” — “You would worry for the food one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, sorgen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is sorge, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich sorge für die Kinder.” — “It is important that I worry for the children.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich sorgen für meine Familie.”

✓ Right: “Ich sorge für meine Familie.”

The infinitive sorgen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form sorge.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du sorge für meine Familie.”

✓ Right: “Du sorgst für meine Familie.”

sorge is the ich form. With du you need sorgst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich sorge für meine Familie gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe für meine Familie gesorgt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du sorgst für das Essen.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du sorgest für das Essen.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: sorgest, not the indicative sorgst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gesorgt für meine Familie.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe für meine Familie gesorgt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) sorge
    • B) sorgst
    • C) sorgt
    • D) sorgen

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

    • A) sorgt
    • B) sorgen
    • C) sorgst
    • D) sorge

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

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

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

    • A) sorgtest
    • B) sorgtet
    • C) sorgten
    • D) sorgte

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

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

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

    • A) sorgte
    • B) sorgtest
    • C) sorgten
    • D) sorgtet

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

    • A) sorge
    • B) sorgest
    • C) sorgen
    • D) sorget

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

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

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

    • A) gewartet
    • B) gesorgt
    • C) gefreut
    • D) geärgert

  10. What does sorgen mean in English?

  • A) to annoy
  • B) to wait
  • C) to worry
  • D) to please

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does sorgen mean in English?

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

Is sorgen regular or irregular?

sorgen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is sorgend and Partizip II is gesorgt.

How do I practise sorgen every day?

Say one sentence with sorgen 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 sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe für meine Familie gesorgt gestern.” and “Ich werde für meine Familie sorgen 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 sorgen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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