Sprechen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Sprechen means “to speak”, 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 sprechen, 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 sprechen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” — “I speak German with my friends.”
  2. “Du sprichst über dieses Buch mit Marie.” — “You speak about this book with Marie.”
  3. “Ich habe jeden Tag bei der Arbeit gesprochen.” — “I have spoken every day at work.”
  4. “Er sprach Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” — “He spoke German with my friends.”
  5. “Wir werden über dieses Buch mit Marie sprechen.” — “We will speak about this book with Marie.”
  6. “Du hast jeden Tag bei der Arbeit gesprochen.” — “You have spoken every day at work.”
  7. “Ich spräche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” — “I would speak German with my friends.”
  8. “Er spreche über dieses Buch mit Marie.” — “He speaks about this book with Marie.”
  9. “Wir hatten jeden Tag bei der Arbeit gesprochen.” — “We had spoken every day at work.”
  10. “Er wird Deutsch mit meinen Freunden sprechen.” — “He will speak German with my friends.”
  11. “Sie sprechen über dieses Buch mit Marie.” — “They speak about this book with Marie.”
  12. “Sprich jeden Tag bei der Arbeit!” — “Speak every day at work!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Sprichst du Deutsch mit meinen Freunden?” — “You speak German with my friends?” Jonas: “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” — “I speak German with my friends.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde über dieses Buch mit Marie sprechen.” — “I will speak about this book with Marie.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe jeden Tag bei der Arbeit gesprochen.” — “I have spoken every day at work.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich spräche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” — “I would speak German with my friends.”

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.

Sprechen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, sprechen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is spreche: “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” — “I speak German with my friends.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, sprechen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is sprach: “Er sprach über dieses Buch mit Marie.” — “He spoke about this book with Marie.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, sprechen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gesprochen. The ich form is habe gesprochen: “Ich habe jeden Tag bei der Arbeit gesprochen.” — “I have spoken every day at work.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, sprechen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden sprechen: “Wir werden Deutsch mit meinen Freunden sprechen.” — “We will speak German with my friends.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, sprechen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is sprächest: “Du sprächest über dieses Buch mit Marie.” — “You would speak about this book with Marie.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, sprechen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is spreche: “Er spreche jeden Tag bei der Arbeit.” — “He speaks every day at work.” 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 sprechen Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.”

✓ Right: “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.”

The infinitive sprechen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form spreche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.”

✓ Right: “Du sprichst Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.”

spreche is the ich form. With du you need sprichst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe Deutsch mit meinen Freunden gesprochen.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gesprochen Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe Deutsch mit meinen Freunden gesprochen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) spricht
    • B) sprechen
    • C) spreche
    • D) sprichst

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

    • A) sprichst
    • B) spreche
    • C) spricht
    • D) sprechen

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

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

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

    • A) sprachen
    • B) sprach
    • C) sprachst
    • D) spracht

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

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

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

    • A) sprächest
    • B) sprächen
    • C) sprächet
    • D) spräche

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

    • A) sprechen
    • B) sprechet
    • C) spreche
    • D) sprechest

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of sprechen?

    • A) gefahren
    • B) gelassen
    • C) gesprochen
    • D) gelebt

  10. What does sprechen mean in English?

  • A) to let, to leave
  • B) to speak
  • C) to live
  • D) to drive

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does sprechen mean in English?

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

Is sprechen regular or irregular?

sprechen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is sprechend and the past participle is gesprochen.

How do I practise sprechen every day?

Say one sentence with sprechen 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 spreche Deutsch mit meinen Freunden.”, “Ich habe Deutsch mit meinen Freunden gesprochen.” and “Ich werde Deutsch mit meinen Freunden sprechen.”. 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 sprechen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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