Tragen Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
How do you actually use tragen — “to carry” — in a real sentence? This page shows you: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue, the mistakes learners make most often with this verb, and a quiz to test yourself. Every German form on this page comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for tragen. Start with the simplest sentence: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for tragen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Tragen in real sentences
Twelve sentences with tragen, covering the present, the Präteritum, the Perfekt, the Plusquamperfekt, the future, Konjunktiv I and II, and the imperative. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.”
- “Du trägst einen schweren Koffer.” — “You carry a heavy suitcase.”
- “Er trägt einen schweren Koffer.” — “He carries a heavy suitcase.”
- “Ich trug einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Wir trugen einen schweren Koffer.” — “We carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “I have carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Du hast einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “You have carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Ich hatte einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “I had carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Wir werden einen schweren Koffer tragen.” — “We will carry a heavy suitcase.”
- “Ich werde einen schweren Koffer getragen haben.” — “I will have carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich einen schweren Koffer trage.” — “It is important that I carry a heavy suitcase.”
- “Ich trüge einen schweren Koffer.” — “I would carry a heavy suitcase if I could.”
- “Ich hätte einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “I would have carried a heavy suitcase if I had been able to.”
- “Trag einen schweren Koffer!” — “Carry a heavy suitcase!”
A short dialogue with tragen
Anna and Ben talk about their plans. Every form of tragen in the dialogue comes from the verified tables — read it aloud, changing the person each time.
Anna: “Du trägst einen schweren Koffer?” — “You carry a heavy suitcase?”
Ben: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.”
Anna: “Du hast einen schweren Koffer getragen?” — “You have carried a heavy suitcase?”
Ben: “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “I have carried a heavy suitcase.”
Anna: “Du wirst einen schweren Koffer tragen?” — “You will carry a heavy suitcase?”
Ben: “Ich werde einen schweren Koffer tragen.” — “I will carry a heavy suitcase.”
Anna: “Trag einen schweren Koffer!” — “Carry a heavy suitcase!”
Ben: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.”
Notice how the verb changes with the person and the tense while the meaning stays the same: trage, trägst, habe getragen, werde tragen. If you can follow this dialogue without looking at the tables, you know tragen well enough to use it.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich tragen einen schweren Koffer.”
✓ Right: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.”
The infinitive tragen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form trage.
2. Confusing tragen with ziehen
✗ Wrong: “Ich ziehen einen schweren Koffer.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.”
tragen means “to carry”; ziehen means “to pull”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to tragen
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragt.” (a guessed regular participle)
✓ Right: “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragen.”
tragen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Its past participle is getragen, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du einen schweren Koffer trägst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du einen schweren Koffer tragest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use tragest here, not the indicative trägst.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of tragen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) trägt
- B) tragen
- C) tragt
- D) trage
What is the er/sie/es form of tragen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) tragen
- B) tragt
- C) trage
- D) trägt
What is the du form of tragen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) trug
- B) trugst
- C) trugen
- D) trugt
What is the wir form of tragen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe getragen
- B) hat getragen
- C) haben getragen
- D) hast getragen
What is the ich form of tragen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst tragen
- B) werdet tragen
- C) wird tragen
- D) werde tragen
What is the du form of tragen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) trügest
- B) trüge
- C) trügen
- D) trüget
What is the ich form of tragen in the Conditional perfect?
- A) hättet getragen
- B) hättest getragen
- C) hätten getragen
- D) hätte getragen
What is the past participle of tragen?
- A) trage
- B) tragend
- C) getragen
- D) trug
What is the present participle of tragen?
- A) trage
- B) getragen
- C) werde tragen
- D) tragend
What does tragen mean in English?
- A) to come
- B) to do
- C) to pull
- D) to carry
Answer key
- D) trage — the ich form of tragen in the present tense is trage.
- D) trägt — the er/sie/es form of tragen in the present tense is trägt.
- B) trugst — the du form of tragen in the preterite is trugst.
- C) haben getragen — the wir form of tragen in the Perfekt is haben getragen.
- D) werde tragen — the ich form of tragen in the Futur I is werde tragen.
- A) trügest — the du form of tragen in the Konjunktiv II is trügest.
- D) hätte getragen — the ich form of tragen in the conditional perfect is hätte getragen.
- C) getragen — the past participle of tragen is getragen; perfect tenses use haben + getragen.
- D) tragend — the present participle of tragen is tragend.
- D) to carry — tragen means “to carry” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does tragen mean in English?
tragen means “to carry”. The examples above show it in everyday situations — for example, “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” (“I carry a heavy suitcase.”).
Is tragen regular or irregular?
tragen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The full tables are on the conjugation page.
How do I use tragen in the Perfekt?
Use haben + the past participle getragen: “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “I have carried a heavy suitcase.” The full Perfekt table is on the tragen in the Perfekt tense page.
Related pages
- tragen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- tragen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in one tense.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise tragen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise tragen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.