The idea
Present tense: ich rette, du rettest, er/sie/es rettet, wir retten, ihr rettet, sie/Sie retten. Learn the sentence pattern jemanden oder etwas retten together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | rette |
| du | rettest |
| er/sie/es | rettet |
| wir | retten |
| ihr | rettet |
| sie/Sie | retten |
| Präteritum | rettete |
| Perfekt | hat gerettet |
| Imperativ (du) | Rette! |
| Muster | jemanden oder etwas retten |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Retten takes the rescued person or thing in the accusative. It can also describe saving an event or plan figuratively.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemanden oder etwas retten. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Du rettst den Plan.Du rettest den Plan.The stem ends in t, so insert e before st.
Examples
- Ich rette die letzte lesbare Kopie aus dem Papierstapel.I save the last readable copy from the paper stack.
- Du rettest mit deiner Idee unseren Zeitplan.Your idea saves our schedule.
- Die Feuerwehr rettet die Katze vom Dach.The fire service rescues the cat from the roof.
- Wir retteten die Bücher vor dem eindringenden Wasser.We saved the books from the incoming water.
- Die Helfer haben die Fotos aus dem nassen Karton gerettet.The helpers saved the photos from the wet box.
- Rette zuerst die Datei unter einem neuen Namen.First save the file under a new name.
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Watch out
The stem ends in t, so insert e before st.
Try it yourself
du ___ (retten, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
rettest
rettest: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (retten, Präteritum)
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rettete
rettete: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
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gerettet
gerettet: in this use the perfect tense is hat gerettet.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (retten, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (retten, 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 retten.