Tanzen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Tanzen means “to dance”, 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 tanzen, 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 tanzen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich tanze mit meiner Freundin jeden Tag.” — “I dance with my girlfriend every day.”
  2. “Du tanzt im Park jeden Tag.” — “You dance in the park every day.”
  3. “Ich habe auf der Party getanzt gestern.” — “I have danced at the party yesterday.”
  4. “Er tanzte mit meiner Freundin gestern.” — “He danced with my girlfriend yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden im Park tanzen morgen.” — “We will dance in the park tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast auf der Party getanzt gestern.” — “You have danced at the party yesterday.”
  7. “Ich tanzte mit meiner Freundin eines Tages.” — “I would dance with my girlfriend one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er tanze im Park.” — “It is important that he dance in the park.”
  9. “Wir hatten auf der Party getanzt vor der Party.” — “We had danced at the party before the party.”
  10. “Er wird mit meiner Freundin tanzen morgen.” — “He will dance with my girlfriend tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie tanzen im Park jeden Tag.” — “They dance in the park every day.”
  12. “Tanz auf der Party!” — “Dance at the party!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du tanzt mit meiner Freundin jeden Tag.” — “You dance with my girlfriend every day.” Jonas: “Ich tanze mit meiner Freundin jeden Tag.” — “I dance with my girlfriend every day.” Lena: “Du wirst im Park tanzen morgen.” — “You will dance in the park tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde im Park tanzen morgen.” — “I will dance in the park tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast auf der Party getanzt gestern.” — “You have danced at the party yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe auf der Party getanzt gestern.” — “I have danced at the party yesterday.” Lena: “Du tanztest mit meiner Freundin eines Tages.” — “You would dance with my girlfriend one day.” Jonas: “Ich tanzte mit meiner Freundin eines Tages.” — “I would dance with my girlfriend 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.

Tanzen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, tanzen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is tanze: “Ich tanze mit meiner Freundin jeden Tag.” — “I dance with my girlfriend every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, tanzen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is tanzte: “Er tanzte im Park gestern.” — “He danced in the park yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, tanzen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle getanzt. The ich form is habe getanzt: “Ich habe auf der Party getanzt gestern.” — “I have danced at the party yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, tanzen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden tanzen: “Wir werden mit meiner Freundin tanzen morgen.” — “We will dance with my girlfriend tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, tanzen 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 tanztest: “Du tanztest im Park eines Tages.” — “You would dance in the park one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, tanzen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is tanze, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich tanze auf der Party.” — “It is important that I dance at the party.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich tanzen mit meiner Freundin.”

✓ Right: “Ich tanze mit meiner Freundin.”

The infinitive tanzen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form tanze.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du tanze mit meiner Freundin.”

✓ Right: “Du tanzt mit meiner Freundin.”

tanze is the ich form. With du you need tanzt. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich tanze mit meiner Freundin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mit meiner Freundin getanzt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du tanzt im Park.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du tanzest im Park.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: tanzest, not the indicative tanzt.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich getanzt mit meiner Freundin.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mit meiner Freundin getanzt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) tanzen
    • B) tanzte
    • C) tanze
    • D) tanzt

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

    • A) tanze
    • B) tanzen
    • C) tanztest
    • D) tanzt

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

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

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

    • A) tanzten
    • B) tanzte
    • C) tanztest
    • D) tanztet

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

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

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

    • A) tanzten
    • B) tanztet
    • C) tanzte
    • D) tanztest

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

    • A) tanzen
    • B) tanzet
    • C) tanze
    • D) tanzest

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

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

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

    • A) gesungen
    • B) gekocht
    • C) geputzt
    • D) getanzt

  10. What does tanzen mean in English?

  • A) to cook
  • B) to clean
  • C) to dance
  • D) to sing

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does tanzen mean in English?

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

Is tanzen regular or irregular?

tanzen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is tanzend and Partizip II is getanzt.

How do I practise tanzen every day?

Say one sentence with tanzen 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 tanze mit meiner Freundin jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe mit meiner Freundin getanzt gestern.” and “Ich werde mit meiner Freundin tanzen 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 tanzen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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