Vergessen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Vergessen means “to forget”, 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 vergessen, 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 vergessen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich vergesse meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I forget my keys every day.”
  2. “Du vergisst den Termin jeden Tag.” — “You forget the appointment every day.”
  3. “Ich habe das Buch zu Hause vergessen gestern.” — “I have forgotten the book at home yesterday.”
  4. “Er vergaß meine Schlüssel gestern.” — “He forgot my keys yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden den Termin vergessen morgen.” — “We will forget the appointment tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast das Buch zu Hause vergessen gestern.” — “You have forgotten the book at home yesterday.”
  7. “Ich vergäße meine Schlüssel eines Tages.” — “I would forget my keys one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er vergesse den Termin.” — “It is important that he forget the appointment.”
  9. “Wir hatten das Buch zu Hause vergessen vor der Party.” — “We had forgotten the book at home before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meine Schlüssel vergessen morgen.” — “He will forget my keys tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie vergessen den Termin jeden Tag.” — “They forget the appointment every day.”
  12. “Vergiss das Buch zu Hause!” — “Forget the book at home!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du vergisst meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “You forget my keys every day.” Jonas: “Ich vergesse meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I forget my keys every day.” Lena: “Du wirst den Termin vergessen morgen.” — “You will forget the appointment tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde den Termin vergessen morgen.” — “I will forget the appointment tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast das Buch zu Hause vergessen gestern.” — “You have forgotten the book at home yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe das Buch zu Hause vergessen gestern.” — “I have forgotten the book at home yesterday.” Lena: “Du vergäßest meine Schlüssel eines Tages.” — “You would forget my keys one day.” Jonas: “Ich vergäße meine Schlüssel eines Tages.” — “I would forget my keys 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.

Vergessen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, vergessen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is vergesse: “Ich vergesse meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I forget my keys every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, vergessen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is vergaß: “Er vergaß den Termin gestern.” — “He forgot the appointment yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, vergessen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle vergessen. The ich form is habe vergessen: “Ich habe das Buch zu Hause vergessen gestern.” — “I have forgotten the book at home yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, vergessen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden vergessen: “Wir werden meine Schlüssel vergessen morgen.” — “We will forget my keys tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, vergessen 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 vergäßest: “Du vergäßest den Termin eines Tages.” — “You would forget the appointment one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, vergessen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is vergesse, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich vergesse das Buch zu Hause.” — “It is important that I forget the book at home.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich vergessen meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Ich vergesse meine Schlüssel.”

The infinitive vergessen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form vergesse.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du vergesse meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Du vergisst meine Schlüssel.”

vergesse is the ich form. With du you need vergisst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich vergesse meine Schlüssel gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel vergessen gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du vergisst den Termin.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du vergessest den Termin.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: vergessest, not the indicative vergisst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich vergessen meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel vergessen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) vergesse
    • B) vergisst
    • C) vergessen
    • D) vergesst

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

    • A) vergesst
    • B) vergisst
    • C) vergesse
    • D) vergessen

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

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

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

    • A) vergessen
    • B) vergaßen
    • C) vergaß
    • D) vergaßt

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

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

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

    • A) vergäße
    • B) vergäßest
    • C) vergäßen
    • D) vergäßet

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

    • A) vergesse
    • B) vergessest
    • C) vergessen
    • D) vergesset

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

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

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

    • A) gehofft
    • B) gewünscht
    • C) vergessen
    • D) geerinnert

  10. What does vergessen mean in English?

  • A) to hope
  • B) to wish
  • C) to forget
  • D) to remember

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does vergessen mean in English?

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

Is vergessen regular or irregular?

vergessen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is vergessend and Partizip II is vergessen.

How do I practise vergessen every day?

Say one sentence with vergessen 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 vergesse meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meine Schlüssel vergessen gestern.” and “Ich werde meine Schlüssel vergessen 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 vergessen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages