Verkaufen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Verkaufen means “to sell”, 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 verkaufen, 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 verkaufen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto.” — “I sell my old car.”
  2. “Du verkaufst Bücher auf dem Markt.” — “You sell books at the market.”
  3. “Ich habe das Haus in Berlin verkauft.” — “I have sold the house in Berlin.”
  4. “Er verkaufte mein altes Auto.” — “He sold my old car.”
  5. “Wir werden Bücher auf dem Markt verkaufen.” — “We will sell books at the market.”
  6. “Du hast das Haus in Berlin verkauft.” — “You have sold the house in Berlin.”
  7. “Ich verkaufte mein altes Auto.” — “I would sell my old car.”
  8. “Er verkaufe Bücher auf dem Markt.” — “He sells books at the market.”
  9. “Wir hatten das Haus in Berlin verkauft.” — “We had sold the house in Berlin.”
  10. “Er wird mein altes Auto verkaufen.” — “He will sell my old car.”
  11. “Sie verkaufen Bücher auf dem Markt.” — “They sell books at the market.”
  12. “Verkauf das Haus in Berlin!” — “Sell the house in Berlin!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Verkaufst du mein altes Auto?” — “You sell my old car?” Jonas: “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto.” — “I sell my old car.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Bücher auf dem Markt verkaufen.” — “I will sell books at the market.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe das Haus in Berlin verkauft.” — “I have sold the house in Berlin.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich verkaufte mein altes Auto.” — “I would sell my old car.”

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.

Verkaufen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, verkaufen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is verkaufe: “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto.” — “I sell my old car.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, verkaufen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is verkaufte: “Er verkaufte Bücher auf dem Markt.” — “He sold books at the market.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, verkaufen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle verkauft. The ich form is habe verkauft: “Ich habe das Haus in Berlin verkauft.” — “I have sold the house in Berlin.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, verkaufen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden verkaufen: “Wir werden mein altes Auto verkaufen.” — “We will sell my old car.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, verkaufen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is verkauftest: “Du verkauftest Bücher auf dem Markt.” — “You would sell books at the market.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, verkaufen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is verkaufe: “Er verkaufe das Haus in Berlin.” — “He sells the house in Berlin.” 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 verkaufen mein altes Auto.”

✓ Right: “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto.”

The infinitive verkaufen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form verkaufe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du verkaufe mein altes Auto.”

✓ Right: “Du verkaufst mein altes Auto.”

verkaufe is the ich form. With du you need verkaufst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mein altes Auto verkauft.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich verkaufe mein altes Auto.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich verkauft mein altes Auto.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mein altes Auto verkauft.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) verkaufst
    • B) verkauft
    • C) verkaufen
    • D) verkaufe

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

    • A) verkaufen
    • B) verkaufst
    • C) verkaufe
    • D) verkauft

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

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

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

    • A) verkauftet
    • B) verkauften
    • C) verkaufte
    • D) verkauftest

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

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

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

    • A) verkauftest
    • B) verkauften
    • C) verkauftet
    • D) verkaufte

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

    • A) verkaufest
    • B) verkaufen
    • C) verkaufet
    • D) verkaufe

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of verkaufen?

    • A) verkauft
    • B) bezahlt
    • C) gewesen
    • D) gehabt

  10. What does verkaufen mean in English?

  • A) to have
  • B) to sell
  • C) to pay
  • D) to be

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does verkaufen mean in English?

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

Is verkaufen regular or irregular?

verkaufen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is verkaufend and the past participle is verkauft.

How do I practise verkaufen every day?

Say one sentence with verkaufen 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 verkaufe mein altes Auto.”, “Ich habe mein altes Auto verkauft.” and “Ich werde mein altes Auto verkaufen.”. 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 verkaufen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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