The idea
Present tense: ich kaufe, du kaufst, er/sie/es kauft, wir kaufen, ihr kauft, sie/Sie kaufen. Learn the sentence pattern jemandem etwas kaufen together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | kaufe |
| du | kaufst |
| er/sie/es | kauft |
| wir | kaufen |
| ihr | kauft |
| sie/Sie | kaufen |
| Präteritum | kaufte |
| Perfekt | hat gekauft |
| Imperativ (du) | Kauf! |
| Muster | jemandem etwas kaufen |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Kaufen takes the thing bought in the accusative. A dative person may identify who receives the purchase.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemandem etwas kaufen. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Ich habe gekaufen.Ich habe gekauft.Kaufen is regular; the participle ends in t: gekauft.
Examples
- Ich kaufe die Eintrittskarten direkt am Museum.I buy the admission tickets directly at the museum.
- Du kaufst diesmal die Zutaten für das Abendessen.You buy the ingredients for dinner this time.
- Der Verein kauft neue Bälle für das Training.The club buys new balls for training.
- Wir kauften das Regal gebraucht.We bought the shelving unit second-hand.
- Sie hat ihrem Vater einen warmen Schal gekauft.She bought her father a warm scarf.
- Kauf nur so viel Brot, wie wir heute brauchen.Buy only as much bread as we need today.
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Watch out
Kaufen is regular; the participle ends in t: gekauft.
Try it yourself
du ___ (kaufen, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
kaufst
kaufst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (kaufen, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
kaufte
kaufte: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
gekauft
gekauft: in this use the perfect tense is hat gekauft.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (kaufen, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (kaufen, 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 etwas kaufen.