Warten in the Present Tense in German
Introduction
Warten means “to wait”, and this page covers exactly one thing: warten in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for warten, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about warten in the present. For example: “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of warten exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.
Warten in the Present Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | warte |
| du | wartest |
| er/sie/es | wartet |
| wir | warten |
| ihr | wartet |
| sie/Sie | warten |
Partizip I: wartend · Partizip II: gewartet
The present participle is wartend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gewartet, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe gewartet, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how warten is used.
How the Präsens of warten is formed
The present of warten follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich warte, du wartest, er/sie/es wartet, wir warten, ihr wartet, sie/Sie warten. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.
The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I wartend and Partizip II gewartet belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise warten in every tense.
When to use the Präsens of warten
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use warten in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Waiting for the bus — the everyday use
Warten is the verb for waiting for the bus. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.”
2. Waiting for my girlfriend — a second everyday use
Warten also covers waiting for my girlfriend. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du wartest auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “You wait for my girlfriend every day.”
3. Waiting for the train — a third everyday use
In a third everyday situation, you use warten for waiting for the train. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er wartet auf den Zug jeden Tag.” — “He waits for the train every day.”
4. Habits and routines
The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and warten is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir warten auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “We wait for the bus every day.”
5. What is happening right now
The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with warten in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr wartet auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “You wait for my girlfriend every day.”
Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.
Present: “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich wartete auf den Bus gestern.” — “I waited for the bus yesterday.”
The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Present: “Du wartest auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “You wait for my girlfriend every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Du wartetest auf meine Freundin gestern.” — “You waited for my girlfriend yesterday.”
The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Present: “Wir warten auf den Zug jeden Tag.” — “We wait for the train every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir warteten auf den Zug gestern.” — “We waited for the train yesterday.”
The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: warten in the Präsens
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Ich warte auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “I wait for my girlfriend every day.”
“Du wartest auf den Zug jeden Tag.” — “You wait for the train every day.”
“Er wartet auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “He waits for the bus every day.”
“Wir warten auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “We wait for my girlfriend every day.”
“Ihr wartet auf den Zug jeden Tag.” — “You wait for the train every day.”
“Sie warten auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “They wait for the bus every day.”
“Ich warte auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “I wait for my girlfriend every day.”
“Du wartest auf den Zug jeden Tag.” — “You wait for the train every day.”
Common mistakes with warten in the Präsens
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Ich warten auf den Bus.” Right: “Ich warte auf den Bus.” Why: The ich form is warte, not warten. Warten belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.
Wrong: “Wir warten auf den Bus.” Right: “Wir warten auf den Bus.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: warten, not warten. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.
Wrong: “Ich warten auf den Bus.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich warte auf den Bus.” Why: The infinitive warten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form warte.
Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich warte auf den Bus.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich warte auf den Bus.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use warte here, not the indicative warte.
Quiz: warten in the Präsens
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ auf meine Freundin.”
- (A) warten
- (B) warte
- (C) wartest
- (D) wartet
2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ auf den Zug.”
- (A) wartet
- (B) warten
- (C) wartest
- (D) warte
3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ auf den Bus.”
- (A) warten
- (B) wartet
- (C) warte
- (D) wartest
4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ auf meine Freundin.”
- (A) warte
- (B) wartest
- (C) wartet
- (D) warten
5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ auf den Zug.”
- (A) warten
- (B) wartet
- (C) warte
- (D) wartest
6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ auf den Bus.”
- (A) warte
- (B) wartest
- (C) wartet
- (D) warten
7. What does warten mean in English?
- (A) to wait
- (B) to arrive
- (C) to depart
- (D) to get in
8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of warten?
- (A) eingestiegen
- (B) gewartet
- (C) angekommen
- (D) abgefahren
Answer key
- B) warte — The ich form is warte.
- C) wartest — The du form is wartest.
- B) wartet — The er/sie/es form is wartet.
- D) warten — The wir form is warten.
- B) wartet — The ihr form is wartet.
- D) warten — The sie/Sie form is warten.
- A) to wait — warten means “to wait”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
- B) gewartet — The past participle of warten is gewartet; the Präsens is formed with haben + gewartet.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present of warten formed?
The present of warten is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich warte, du wartest, er wartet, wir warten, ihr wartet, sie warten.
When do I use the present of warten?
Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of warten?
The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” with “Ich wartete auf den Bus gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for warten, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of warten — every tense of warten in one place.
- Warten in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Warten examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Ankommen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Abfahren conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Einsteigen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise warten with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise warten with the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise warten with the interactive tool.