Ziehen Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
How do you actually use ziehen — “to pull” — 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 ziehen. Start with the simplest sentence: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ziehen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Ziehen in real sentences
Twelve sentences with ziehen, 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 ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Du ziehst den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “You pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Er zieht den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “He pulls the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich zog den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Wir zogen den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “We pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “I have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Du hast den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “You have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich hatte den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “I had pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Wir werden den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehen.” — “We will pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich werde den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen haben.” — “I will have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehe.” — “It is important that I pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich zöge den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I would pull the suitcase to the station if I could.”
- “Ich hätte den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “I would have pulled the suitcase to the station if I had been able to.”
- “Zieh den Koffer zum Bahnhof!” — “Pull the suitcase to the station!”
A short dialogue with ziehen
Anna and Ben talk about their plans. Every form of ziehen in the dialogue comes from the verified tables — read it aloud, changing the person each time.
Anna: “Du ziehst den Koffer zum Bahnhof?” — “You pull the suitcase to the station?”
Ben: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.”
Anna: “Du hast den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen?” — “You have pulled the suitcase to the station?”
Ben: “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “I have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
Anna: “Du wirst den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehen?” — “You will pull the suitcase to the station?”
Ben: “Ich werde den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehen.” — “I will pull the suitcase to the station.”
Anna: “Zieh den Koffer zum Bahnhof!” — “Pull the suitcase to the station!”
Ben: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.”
Notice how the verb changes with the person and the tense while the meaning stays the same: ziehe, ziehst, habe gezogen, werde ziehen. If you can follow this dialogue without looking at the tables, you know ziehen well enough to use it.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich ziehen den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
✓ Right: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
The infinitive ziehen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form ziehe.
2. Confusing ziehen with tragen
✗ Wrong: “Ich tragen den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
ziehen means “to pull”; tragen means “to carry”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to ziehen
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezieht.” (a guessed regular participle)
✓ Right: “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.”
ziehen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Its past participle is gezogen, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use ziehest here, not the indicative ziehst.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) ziehe
- B) ziehen
- C) ziehst
- D) zieht
What is the er/sie/es form of ziehen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) ziehe
- B) ziehen
- C) zieht
- D) ziehst
What is the du form of ziehen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) zogst
- B) zogen
- C) zog
- D) zogt
What is the wir form of ziehen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat gezogen
- B) habe gezogen
- C) haben gezogen
- D) hast gezogen
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird ziehen
- B) werde ziehen
- C) wirst ziehen
- D) werdet ziehen
What is the du form of ziehen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) zögen
- B) zöge
- C) zöget
- D) zögest
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Conditional perfect?
- A) hätte gezogen
- B) hättet gezogen
- C) hätten gezogen
- D) hättest gezogen
What is the past participle of ziehen?
- A) zog
- B) gezogen
- C) ziehe
- D) ziehend
What is the present participle of ziehen?
- A) gezogen
- B) ziehend
- C) werde ziehen
- D) ziehe
What does ziehen mean in English?
- A) to pull
- B) to do
- C) to carry
- D) to come
Answer key
- A) ziehe — the ich form of ziehen in the present tense is ziehe.
- C) zieht — the er/sie/es form of ziehen in the present tense is zieht.
- A) zogst — the du form of ziehen in the preterite is zogst.
- C) haben gezogen — the wir form of ziehen in the Perfekt is haben gezogen.
- B) werde ziehen — the ich form of ziehen in the Futur I is werde ziehen.
- D) zögest — the du form of ziehen in the Konjunktiv II is zögest.
- A) hätte gezogen — the ich form of ziehen in the conditional perfect is hätte gezogen.
- B) gezogen — the past participle of ziehen is gezogen; perfect tenses use haben + gezogen.
- B) ziehend — the present participle of ziehen is ziehend.
- A) to pull — ziehen means “to pull” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does ziehen mean in English?
ziehen means “to pull”. The examples above show it in everyday situations — for example, “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” (“I pull the suitcase to the station.”).
Is ziehen regular or irregular?
ziehen 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 ziehen in the Perfekt?
Use haben + the past participle gezogen: “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “I have pulled the suitcase to the station.” The full Perfekt table is on the ziehen in the Perfekt tense page.
Related pages
- ziehen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- ziehen 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 ziehen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise ziehen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.