The idea
Present tense: ich pflege, du pflegst, er/sie/es pflegt, wir pflegen, ihr pflegt, sie/Sie pflegen. Learn the sentence pattern jemanden oder etwas pflegen together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | pflege |
| du | pflegst |
| er/sie/es | pflegt |
| wir | pflegen |
| ihr | pflegt |
| sie/Sie | pflegen |
| Präteritum | pflegte |
| Perfekt | hat gepflegt |
| Imperativ (du) | Pflege! |
| Muster | jemanden oder etwas pflegen |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Pflegen can refer to caring for people, tending plants or maintaining relationships. The object determines the practical meaning.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemanden oder etwas pflegen. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Du pflegest den Garten.Du pflegst den Garten.The ordinary du present is pflegst without an extra e.
Examples
- Ich pflege den Gemeinschaftsgarten mit zwei Nachbarn.I tend the community garden with two neighbors.
- Du pflegst den Kontakt zu deinem früheren Team.You maintain contact with your former team.
- Die Familie pflegt den alten Obstbestand.The family tends the old orchard.
- Wir pflegten die Wege rund um das Vereinsheim.We maintained the paths around the club house.
- Sie hat die Ledertasche regelmäßig gepflegt.She regularly cared for the leather bag.
- Pflege die Werkzeuge, damit sie lange halten.Maintain the tools so that they last a long time.
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
The ordinary du present is pflegst without an extra e.
Try it yourself
du ___ (pflegen, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
pflegst
pflegst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (pflegen, Präteritum)
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pflegte
pflegte: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
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gepflegt
gepflegt: in this use the perfect tense is hat gepflegt.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (pflegen, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (pflegen, 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 jemanden oder etwas pflegen.