Sorgen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Sorgen means “to worry”, and this page covers exactly one thing: sorgen in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for sorgen, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about sorgen in the present. For example: “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of sorgen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Sorgen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich sorge
du sorgst
er/sie/es sorgt
wir sorgen
ihr sorgt
sie/Sie sorgen

Partizip I: sorgend · Partizip II: gesorgt

The present participle is sorgend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gesorgt, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe gesorgt, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how sorgen is used.

How the Präsens of sorgen is formed

The present of sorgen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich sorge, du sorgst, er/sie/es sorgt, wir sorgen, ihr sorgt, sie/Sie sorgen. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I sorgend and Partizip II gesorgt belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise sorgen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of sorgen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use sorgen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Worrying for my family — the everyday use

Sorgen is the verb for worrying for my family. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.”

2. Worrying for the food — a second everyday use

Sorgen also covers worrying for the food. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du sorgst für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the food every day.”

3. Worrying for the children — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use sorgen for worrying for the children. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er sorgt für die Kinder jeden Tag.” — “He worries for the children every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and sorgen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir sorgen für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “We worry for my family every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with sorgen in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr sorgt für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the food every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich sorgte für meine Familie gestern.” — “I worried for my family yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Du sorgst für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the food every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du sorgtest für das Essen gestern.” — “You worried for the food yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Wir sorgen für die Kinder jeden Tag.” — “We worry for the children every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir sorgten für die Kinder gestern.” — “We worried for the children yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: sorgen in the Präsens

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Ich sorge für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “I worry for the food every day.”

  2. “Du sorgst für die Kinder jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the children every day.”

  3. “Er sorgt für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “He worries for my family every day.”

  4. “Wir sorgen für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “We worry for the food every day.”

  5. “Ihr sorgt für die Kinder jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the children every day.”

  6. “Sie sorgen für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “They worry for my family every day.”

  7. “Ich sorge für das Essen jeden Tag.” — “I worry for the food every day.”

  8. “Du sorgst für die Kinder jeden Tag.” — “You worry for the children every day.”

Common mistakes with sorgen in the Präsens

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Ich sorgen für meine Familie.” Right: “Ich sorge für meine Familie.” Why: The ich form is sorge, not sorgen. Sorgen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir sorgen für meine Familie.” Right: “Wir sorgen für meine Familie.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: sorgen, not sorgen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich sorgen für meine Familie.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich sorge für meine Familie.” Why: The infinitive sorgen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form sorge.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich sorge für meine Familie.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich sorge für meine Familie.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use sorge here, not the indicative sorge.

Quiz: sorgen in the Präsens

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ für das Essen.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ für die Kinder.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ für meine Familie.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ für das Essen.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ für die Kinder.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ für meine Familie.”

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

7. What does sorgen mean in English?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. A) sorge — The ich form is sorge.
  2. C) sorgst — The du form is sorgst.
  3. B) sorgt — The er/sie/es form is sorgt.
  4. C) sorgen — The wir form is sorgen.
  5. B) sorgt — The ihr form is sorgt.
  6. C) sorgen — The sie/Sie form is sorgen.
  7. C) to worry — sorgen means “to worry”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) gesorgt — The past participle of sorgen is gesorgt; the Präsens is formed with haben + gesorgt.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of sorgen formed?

The present of sorgen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich sorge, du sorgst, er sorgt, wir sorgen, ihr sorgt, sie sorgen.

When do I use the present of sorgen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” — “I worry for my family every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of sorgen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich sorge für meine Familie jeden Tag.” with “Ich sorgte für meine Familie gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

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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