Tragen Conjugation in German
tragen means “to carry” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of tragen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and tragen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: tragen
- English: to carry
- Verb type: Strong verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): tragend
- Past participle (Partizip II): getragen
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
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 is a strong verb with a vowel change in the present tense: the stem vowel changes from a → ä in the du and er/sie/es forms — trägst, trägt — while ich, wir, ihr and sie keep the plain stem. The preterite changes the stem again (trug), and the past participle is getragen.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for tragen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | trage |
| du | trägst |
| er/sie/es | trägt |
| wir | tragen |
| ihr | tragt |
| sie/Sie | tragen |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | trug |
| du | trugst |
| er/sie/es | trug |
| wir | trugen |
| ihr | trugt |
| sie/Sie | trugen |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe getragen |
| du | hast getragen |
| er/sie/es | hat getragen |
| wir | haben getragen |
| ihr | habt getragen |
| sie/Sie | haben getragen |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte getragen |
| du | hattest getragen |
| er/sie/es | hatte getragen |
| wir | hatten getragen |
| ihr | hattet getragen |
| sie/Sie | hatten getragen |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde tragen |
| du | wirst tragen |
| er/sie/es | wird tragen |
| wir | werden tragen |
| ihr | werdet tragen |
| sie/Sie | werden tragen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde getragen haben |
| du | wirst getragen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird getragen haben |
| wir | werden getragen haben |
| ihr | werdet getragen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden getragen haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | trage |
| du | tragest |
| er/sie/es | trage |
| wir | tragen |
| ihr | traget |
| sie/Sie | tragen |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | trüge |
| du | trügest |
| er/sie/es | trüge |
| wir | trügen |
| ihr | trüget |
| sie/Sie | trügen |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte getragen |
| du | hättest getragen |
| er/sie/es | hätte getragen |
| wir | hätten getragen |
| ihr | hättet getragen |
| sie/Sie | hätten getragen |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | trag |
| wir | tragen |
| ihr | tragt |
| sie/Sie | tragen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | tragend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | getragen |
| Infinitive | tragen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With tragen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With tragen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du trugst einen schweren Koffer.” — “You carried a heavy suitcase.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With tragen it is formed with haben + the past participle getragen. For example: “Er hat einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “He has carried a heavy suitcase.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “We had carried a heavy suitcase.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet einen schweren Koffer tragen.” — “You will carry a heavy suitcase.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden einen schweren Koffer getragen haben.” — “They will have carried a heavy suitcase.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich einen schweren Koffer trage.” — “It is important that I carry a heavy suitcase.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du trügest einen schweren Koffer.” — “You would carry a heavy suitcase if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “He would have carried a heavy suitcase if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With tragen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Trag einen schweren Koffer!” — “Carry a heavy suitcase!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is tragend — “while carrying” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is getragen, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe getragen. The infinitive is tragen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with tragen, covering different tenses and persons. 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 trug einen schweren Koffer.” — “He carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “I have carried a heavy suitcase.”
- “Er hatte einen schweren Koffer getragen.” — “He 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.”
- “Trag einen schweren Koffer!” — “Carry a heavy suitcase!”
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 tragte einen schweren Koffer.” (a guessed regular preterite)
✓ Right: “Ich trug einen schweren Koffer.”
tragen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The preterite form for ich is trug, not what the regular -te endings would give — learn it as a set.
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.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe einen schweren Koffer getragen.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe getragen), not the present.
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 ich form of tragen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) trugen
- B) trugst
- C) trugt
- D) trug
What is the ich form of tragen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habt getragen
- B) hat getragen
- C) habe getragen
- D) hast getragen
What is the wir form of tragen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten getragen
- B) hatte getragen
- C) hattest getragen
- D) hattet getragen
What is the du form of tragen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden tragen
- B) werde tragen
- C) wirst tragen
- D) wird tragen
What is the ich form of tragen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst getragen haben
- B) werdet getragen haben
- C) wird getragen haben
- D) werde getragen haben
What is the ich form of tragen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) trügen
- B) trüge
- C) trügest
- D) trüget
What is the past participle of tragen?
- A) trug
- B) getragen
- C) trage
- 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.
- D) trug — the ich form of tragen in the preterite is trug.
- C) habe getragen — the ich form of tragen in the Perfekt is habe getragen.
- A) hatten getragen — the wir form of tragen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten getragen.
- C) wirst tragen — the du form of tragen in the Futur I is wirst tragen.
- D) werde getragen haben — the ich form of tragen in the Futur II is werde getragen haben.
- B) trüge — the ich form of tragen in the Konjunktiv II is trüge.
- B) getragen — the past participle of tragen is getragen; perfect tenses use haben + getragen.
- D) to carry — tragen means “to carry” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does tragen mean in English?
tragen means “to carry”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” (“I carry a heavy suitcase.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is tragen regular or irregular?
tragen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is tragend and the past participle is getragen.
What are the participles of tragen?
The present participle is tragend and the past participle is getragen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe getragen.
What is the difference between tragen and ziehen?
tragen means “to carry”, while ziehen means “to pull”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for ziehen and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I carry” in German?
Say “Ich trage einen schweren Koffer.” — “I carry a heavy suitcase.” The ich form of the present is trage, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn tragen
Start with the present tense: trage, trägst, trägt, tragen, tragt, tragen. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe getragen — and the Präteritum — trug. Next, learn the future (werde tragen) and the Konjunktiv II (trüge), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (trage) and the imperative (trag). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- tragen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the Perfekt tense.
- tragen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- 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.