The idea
Present tense: ich lese vor, du liest vor, er/sie/es liest vor, wir lesen vor, ihr lest vor, sie/Sie lesen vor. Learn the sentence pattern jemandem etwas vorlesen together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | lese vor |
| du | liest vor |
| er/sie/es | liest vor |
| wir | lesen vor |
| ihr | lest vor |
| sie/Sie | lesen vor |
| Präteritum | las vor |
| Perfekt | hat vorgelesen |
| Imperativ (du) | Lies vor! |
| Muster | jemandem etwas vorlesen |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Vorlesen combines a dative listener with an accusative text. It is separable and retains lesen's vowel changes.
Learn this pattern as a unit: jemandem etwas vorlesen. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Du lesst vor.Du liest vor.The du form keeps lesen's vowel change: liest vor.
Examples
- Ich lese der Gruppe die neue Nachricht vor.I read the new message aloud to the group.
- Du liest den Dialog mit verteilten Rollen vor.You read the dialogue aloud with assigned roles.
- Der Vater liest seinem Kind jeden Abend vor.The father reads aloud to his child every evening.
- Wir lasen die Namen der Preisträger vor.We read out the names of the prize winners.
- Sie hat den vollständigen Brief vorgelesen.She read the entire letter aloud.
- Lies die Zahlen bitte einzeln vor.Please read out the numbers individually.
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 du form keeps lesen's vowel change: liest vor.
Try it yourself
du ___ (vorlesen, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
liest vor
liest vor: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (vorlesen, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
las vor
las vor: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
vorgelesen
vorgelesen: in this use the perfect tense is hat vorgelesen.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (vorlesen, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (vorlesen, 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 etwas vorlesen.