The idea
Present tense: ich danke, du dankst, er/sie/es dankt, wir danken, ihr dankt, sie/Sie danken. Learn the sentence pattern jemandem für etwas danken together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | danke |
| du | dankst |
| er/sie/es | dankt |
| wir | danken |
| ihr | dankt |
| sie/Sie | danken |
| Präteritum | dankte |
| Perfekt | hat gedankt |
| Imperativ (du) | Danke! |
| Muster | jemandem für etwas danken |
Meaning and sentence pattern
The person thanked is dative; für plus accusative gives the reason. Danke can also stand alone as a courtesy expression.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemandem für etwas danken. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Ich danke dich.Ich danke dir.Danken takes dative: dir, not dich.
Examples
- Ich danke der Nachbarin für ihre Hilfe.I thank the neighbor for her help.
- Du dankst dem Team am Ende der Präsentation.You thank the team at the end of the presentation.
- Die Leiterin dankt allen freiwilligen Helfern.The manager thanks all the volunteers.
- Wir dankten dem Fahrer für seine Geduld.We thanked the driver for his patience.
- Sie hat mir für die schnelle Antwort gedankt.She thanked me for the quick reply.
- Danke auch den Menschen hinter der Bühne.Thank the people behind the stage too.
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Watch out
Danken takes dative: dir, not dich.
Try it yourself
du ___ (danken, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
dankst
dankst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (danken, Präteritum)
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dankte
dankte: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
gedankt
gedankt: in this use the perfect tense is hat gedankt.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (danken, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (danken, 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 für etwas danken.