The idea
Present tense: ich trinke, du trinkst, er/sie/es trinkt, wir trinken, ihr trinkt, sie/Sie trinken. Learn the sentence pattern etwas trinken; aus einem Glas trinken together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | trinke |
| du | trinkst |
| er/sie/es | trinkt |
| wir | trinken |
| ihr | trinkt |
| sie/Sie | trinken |
| Präteritum | trank |
| Perfekt | hat getrunken |
| Imperativ (du) | Trink! |
| Muster | etwas trinken; aus einem Glas trinken |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Trinken has strong past forms trank and getrunken but no stem-vowel change in the present.
Learn this pattern as a unit: etwas trinken; aus einem Glas trinken. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Ich habe getrinkt.Ich habe getrunken.The strong participle uses u and en: getrunken.
Examples
- Ich trinke meinen Tee heute ohne Zucker.I drink my tea without sugar today.
- Du trinkst aus der Flasche mit dem grünen Deckel.You drink from the bottle with the green lid.
- Die Wandergruppe trinkt an der nächsten Raststelle Wasser.The hiking group drinks water at the next rest stop.
- Zum Frühstück trank ich ein Glas Saft.I drank a glass of juice with breakfast.
- Wir haben nach dem Konzert noch etwas getrunken.We had something to drink after the concert.
- Trink erst einen Schluck, bevor du weiterredest.Have a sip before you continue speaking.
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Watch out
The strong participle uses u and en: getrunken.
Try it yourself
du ___ (trinken, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
trinkst
trinkst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (trinken, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
trank
trank: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
getrunken
getrunken: in this use the perfect tense is hat getrunken.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (trinken, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (trinken, 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 etwas trinken; aus einem Glas trinken.