The idea
Present tense: ich antworte, du antwortest, er/sie/es antwortet, wir antworten, ihr antwortet, sie/Sie antworten. Learn the sentence pattern jemandem antworten; auf eine Frage antworten together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | antworte |
| du | antwortest |
| er/sie/es | antwortet |
| wir | antworten |
| ihr | antwortet |
| sie/Sie | antworten |
| Präteritum | antwortete |
| Perfekt | hat geantwortet |
| Imperativ (du) | Antworte! |
| Muster | jemandem antworten; auf eine Frage antworten |
Meaning and sentence pattern
The person receiving an answer is dative. Auf introduces the question or message and takes the accusative in this pattern.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemandem antworten; auf eine Frage antworten. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Ich antworte die Kundin.Ich antworte der Kundin.Antworten takes a dative recipient; fragen uses a different case pattern.
Examples
- Ich antworte der Kundin noch vor der Pause.I answer the customer before the break.
- Du antwortest immer sehr ausführlich.You always answer very fully.
- Der Hausmeister antwortet auf meine Nachricht.The caretaker replies to my message.
- Auf diese Frage antwortete niemand.No one answered that question.
- Wir haben der Reisegruppe schon geantwortet.We have already replied to the travel group.
- Antworte bitte mit einem vollständigen Satz.Please answer in a complete sentence.
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Watch out
Antworten takes a dative recipient; fragen uses a different case pattern.
Try it yourself
du ___ (antworten, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
antwortest
antwortest: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (antworten, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
antwortete
antwortete: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
geantwortet
geantwortet: in this use the perfect tense is hat geantwortet.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (antworten, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (antworten, Präteritum)
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Read the six situations aloud, compare the verb forms, and complete the present, past and participle checks. Then write a new sentence that follows jemandem antworten; auf eine Frage antworten.