The idea
Present tense: ich gratuliere, du gratulierst, er/sie/es gratuliert, wir gratulieren, ihr gratuliert, sie/Sie gratulieren. Learn the sentence pattern jemandem zu etwas gratulieren together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | gratuliere |
| du | gratulierst |
| er/sie/es | gratuliert |
| wir | gratulieren |
| ihr | gratuliert |
| sie/Sie | gratulieren |
| Präteritum | gratulierte |
| Perfekt | hat gratuliert |
| Imperativ (du) | Gratuliere! |
| Muster | jemandem zu etwas gratulieren |
Meaning and sentence pattern
The person is dative and zu plus dative introduces the occasion. Verbs in ieren have no ge in the participle.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemandem zu etwas gratulieren. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Ich gratuliere dich.Ich gratuliere dir.Gratulieren takes a dative person, just like danken.
Examples
- Ich gratuliere meinem Kollegen zur bestandenen Prüfung.I congratulate my colleague on passing the exam.
- Du gratulierst der Mannschaft zu ihrem Erfolg.You congratulate the team on its success.
- Die Nachbarschaft gratuliert dem Paar zur Hochzeit.The neighborhood congratulates the couple on their wedding.
- Wir gratulierten unserer Freundin zum neuen Arbeitsplatz.We congratulated our friend on her new job.
- Hast du deiner Schwester schon zum Geburtstag gratuliert?Have you congratulated your sister on her birthday yet?
- Gratuliere der Gewinnerin nach der Preisverleihung.Congratulate the winner after the award ceremony.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Gratulieren takes a dative person, just like danken.
Try it yourself
du ___ (gratulieren, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
gratulierst
gratulierst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (gratulieren, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
gratulierte
gratulierte: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
gratuliert
gratuliert: in this use the perfect tense is hat gratuliert.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (gratulieren, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (gratulieren, 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.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account and carry on with the story in the game.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
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 zu etwas gratulieren.