Treten ("to step / to kick") is a strong verb with the e → i vowel change in the present — and a second twist that almost no other verb has: the stem-final t doubles to tt in the changed forms (du trittst, er tritt). On top of that, treten is one of the clearest examples of a verb that switches its Perfekt auxiliary by meaning: it takes sein when it means motion ("step somewhere") and haben when it means the transitive action ("kick something"). Mastering this verb means mastering the haben/sein logic in miniature.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Partizip II (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| treten | trat | getreten (ist / hat) |
Read this as treten – trat – ist/hat getreten. The vowel goes e → a → e (Ablaut class with geben, lesen, sehen). The auxiliary is sein or haben depending on the sense — see below.
Präsens (present)
The e → i change appears in du and er/sie/es, and there the single t becomes tt: trittst, tritt. The other persons keep the plain e stem.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | trete |
| du | trittst |
| er / sie / es | tritt |
| wir | treten |
| ihr | tretet |
| sie / Sie | treten |
Pass auf, wohin du trittst — der Boden ist nass.
Watch where you step — the floor is wet. (informal; du trittst, double t)
Er tritt jeden Morgen barfuß auf den kalten Fliesenboden.
Every morning he steps barefoot onto the cold tiled floor. (er tritt)
Präteritum (simple past)
The Präteritum stem is trat. The double-t does not appear here — it is a present-tense phenomenon only.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | trat |
| du | tratst |
| er / sie / es | trat |
| wir | traten |
| ihr | tratet |
| sie / Sie | traten |
Sie trat ans Fenster und sah hinaus.
She stepped to the window and looked out. (literary narration)
Perfekt (present perfect) — sein OR haben
This is the heart of the verb. The same participle, getreten, takes two different auxiliaries:
- sein when treten describes a movement from one place to another (intransitive): Ich bin ins Zimmer getreten ("I stepped into the room").
- haben when treten takes a direct object — the "kick" sense (transitive): Er hat den Ball getreten ("He kicked the ball").
| Person | Motion (sein) | "Kick" (haben) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin getreten | habe getreten |
| du | bist getreten | hast getreten |
| er / sie / es | ist getreten | hat getreten |
| wir | sind getreten | haben getreten |
| ihr | seid getreten | habt getreten |
| sie / Sie | sind getreten | haben getreten |
Er ist einen Schritt zur Seite getreten, um mich vorbeizulassen.
He stepped aside to let me pass. (motion: ist getreten)
Im Streit hat er gegen die Tür getreten.
In the heat of the argument he kicked the door. (action with object: hat getreten)
The deeper logic: German uses sein for verbs of motion that change your location, and haben for verbs that take an accusative object. Treten simply does both jobs, so its auxiliary follows whichever sense is active. This is exactly the same split you see in fahren (ist gefahren = went somewhere / hat gefahren = drove a car). For the full rule, see haben vs sein in the Perfekt.
Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)
Past form of the matching auxiliary + getreten.
Kaum war er ins Zimmer getreten, verstummte das Gespräch.
No sooner had he stepped into the room than the conversation fell silent. (motion: war getreten)
Imperativ (commands)
The du-imperative shows the e → i stem with the doubled t and no final -e: tritt!
| Addressee | Form |
|---|---|
| du | tritt |
| ihr | tretet |
| Sie | treten Sie |
Tritt bitte ein, die Tür ist offen!
Please come in, the door is open! (informal; eintreten, separable)
Usage, meaning, and government
The bare verb means "to step." Direction takes a preposition with the accusative (movement): in, auf, an, vor. To "kick" someone or something, treten is transitive (accusative); to "step on" something, German often uses auf + accusative or the dative depending on the prefix.
Tritt mir nicht auf die Füße!
Don't step on my feet! (auf + accusative)
Der Spieler trat den Gegner absichtlich ans Schienbein.
The player deliberately kicked his opponent in the shin. (transitive, accusative)
Prefixed verbs and collocations
Treten generates a cluster of high-value abstract verbs. Their auxiliary follows the same motion-vs-action logic; the motion-based ones (entering, appearing, resigning, coming into effect) all take sein.
| Verb | English |
|---|---|
| eintreten (ist) | to enter; to join (a club, party) |
| auftreten (ist) | to appear, perform; to occur (a problem) |
| zurücktreten (ist) | to step back; to resign (from office) |
| beitreten (ist) | to join, accede to (+ dative) |
| in Kraft treten (ist) | to come into effect (a law) |
| kürzertreten | to ease off, take it slower |
Die neue Datenschutzverordnung ist gestern in Kraft getreten.
The new data-protection regulation came into effect yesterday. (in Kraft treten, sein)
Nach dem Skandal ist der Minister zurückgetreten.
After the scandal the minister resigned. (zurücktreten, sein)
Die Band tritt heute Abend im Stadtpark auf.
The band is performing in the city park tonight. (auftreten)
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich habe ins Zimmer getreten.
Incorrect auxiliary — pure motion into a place takes sein.
✅ Ich bin ins Zimmer getreten.
I stepped into the room.
❌ Er ist den Ball getreten.
Incorrect auxiliary — with a direct object (den Ball), the 'kick' sense takes haben.
✅ Er hat den Ball getreten.
He kicked the ball.
❌ Du tretst mir auf den Fuß.
Incorrect du-form — treten is an e→i verb with t-doubling, so it is trittst.
✅ Du trittst mir auf den Fuß.
You're stepping on my foot. (informal)
❌ Der Minister hat zurückgetreten.
Incorrect auxiliary — zurücktreten ('resign') is motion-based and takes sein.
✅ Der Minister ist zurückgetreten.
The minister resigned.
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: treten – trat – ist/hat getreten (auxiliary by meaning).
- Present e → i with t-doubling: ich trete but du trittst, er tritt — imperative tritt!
- sein for motion (ins Zimmer treten); haben for the transitive kick (den Ball treten).
- The prefixed verbs of motion — eintreten, auftreten, zurücktreten, in Kraft treten — all take sein.
- The double-t is a present-tense feature only; the past stem is plain trat.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
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- Perfekt Auxiliary: haben vs seinA2 — How to choose between haben and sein in the German Perfekt — motion and change of state take sein, and a direct object flips it to haben.
- haben vs sein in the PerfektA2 — How to choose the right auxiliary verb in the German present perfect: haben by default, sein for intransitive motion and change-of-state verbs.
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