Past tense in German. Perfect and preterite

Last Updated on November 22, 2023

The past tense in German is covered almost entirely by only two tenses – Perfekt and Präteritum. It’s a master skill if you master the Plusquamperfekt, but in reality, 100 percent of the time you can avoid it. In this topic, we will look at
how the perfect and the preterite differ from each other,
when they use haben or sein in the perfect,
and at the end we will give tables of irregular verbs by group.

Separable verbs in German
Modal verbs in German
SS or ß in German
Negation in German
Conjunctions and connector adverbs – 2. Different word order in German
Basic German. 3. Local prepositions in German
Basic German. 4. Time and prepositions of time in German
Difference between enden and beenden, abschließen, aufhören
German synonyms. Difference between verschieden and unterschiedlich, anders

Past tense in German – Perfekt vs Präteritum (Imperfekt)

1. When to use

Fortunately, German in terms of tenses is much easier than English – you don’t have to think at all, just remember the forms of strong verbs and don’t forget to rearrange the pieces of the predicate to the end of the sentence.

The most general rule: spoken – perfect, written – preterite. But do not forget that colloquial speech can be in written form, and formal, written style can also be in oral form. Hence the additions to the rule.

Preterite in German is used

in written speech (not everyday speech)

in an official speech

in stories about old events (in fairy tales, histories, reports about the past)

in news and journalism (including radio and television)

some verbs are more often used in the present form even in colloquial speech (modal verbs, sein, haben, fixed expressions like Es gibt)

Perfect in German is used

in colloquial speech and informal letters

The perfect has a connection with the present. If the presentation or report (school, scientific) is about events of the recent past, then they rather choose the perfect.

2. Forms

Let me remind you that the stem of a verb is its initial form (infinitive) minus the ending –en.

Preterite

Regular verbs: verb stem + t + personal endings (first, second or third person and singular or plural number)

I said: sag – en + t + e = sagte

if the base of the verb ends in -t, -d, a combination of a consonant and m, n, then a connecting vowel -e- is added before -t

I worked: arbeiten – arbeitete
I calculated: rechnen – rechnete
I spoke: reden – redete

Irregular verbs: second form + personal endings (except 1st and 3rd person singular: I, he, she, it)

Personal endings are red, connecting vowel is green.

Preterite forms of modal and auxiliary verbs (on the left). In addition, there are personal endings in all forms except “ich” and “er, sie, es” (tables on the right).

Perfect forms

haben or sein (changes in the present tense) + uninflected 3rd form of the verb (Partizip II)

Partizip II in regular verbs is formed so:
prefix ge– + stem of the verb + ending -t .
If the verb has a separable prefix, then ge– is placed between it and the root.

holen:
ge + hol (- en) + t = geholt
abholen:
ab + ge + hol (- en) + t = abgeholt

Some regular verbs do not have the prefix ge-:
for verbs with an inseparable prefix (erleben – erlebt)
for verbs ending in -ieren (studieren – studiert)
if the verb has an inseparable prefix to which a separable prefix is attached, then ge– is absent (vorbestellen – vorbestellt: vor is separable prefix, be – inseparable).

Separable verbs in German

For irregular verbs, the participle form must be remembered. Most often it is formed from a modified stem plus the prefix ge– and the ending –en. However, the stem does not always change.
If the verb has an inseparable prefix, then ge- is missing.

bleiben – geblieben
schneiden – ausgeschnitten (aus – separable prefix)
erschrecken – erschrecken (er – inseparable prefix)
fahren – gefahren

In the so-called mixed forms, the suffix -t is retained, but there is also a modified stem: rennen – gerannt.
You do not need to remember that these forms are called mixed, since these forms still need to be memorized, like other forms of irregular verbs.

Modal verbs are rarely used in the perfect, but they nevertheless have forms.
Auxiliary verbs are more often in the perfect, than modal verbs, however preterite forms are more common.

müssen – gemusst
können – gekonnt
dürfen – gedurft
sollen – gesollt
wollen – gewollt
möchten – gemocht

sein – gewesen
haben – gehabt
werden – geworden

Haben or sein

We have two auxiliary verbs because they originally had a specific meaning (classic meaning of the perfect form, which is hardly noticeable today):
sein was used with intransitive verbs (those that cannot have an accusative object) and meant the result of a movement or change
I came = I am now in a new place (I bin gekommen = Ich bin jetzt an einem neuen Ort)
I woke up = I am awake now (Ich bin aufgewacht = Ich bin jetzt wach)
haben was used with transitive verbs and meant something was done to something and now we have the result of that action
I painted a picture = I have a painted picture (Ich habe ein Bild gemalt = ich habe ein gemaltes Bild)

Of course, over time this distinction has become relatively formal, but perhaps this kind of check will help you: whether or not the result can be represented as a sentence with the verb sein.

Sein is used:

– with verbs changing place from point A to point B (without accusative):
fahren,
laufen,
kommen,
schwimmen,
fallen,
rennen,
fliegen,
abbiegen,
springen,
reisen,
begegnen (initially “entgegen gehen”) and others

If a verb in a sentence is used with an accusative object, then the auxiliary verb haben is used

Ich habe das Auto in die Garage gefahren
Pilot hat das Flugzeug nach London geflogen

If the movement is made aimlessly, in place, and not from point A to point B, then haben is used. Therefore tanzen will be with haben.

Ich bin zu der Insel geschwommen
Ich habe im kalten Fluss geschwommen

– with verbs of condition change from condition A to condition B:
einschlafen (awake – > sleeping)
aufstehen, aufwachen (sleeping – > awake)
angehen (was not – > appeared)
sterben

However, if the meaning of the verb does not include an unambiguous change from one condition to another, then it will be haben.
For example, wandeln, verwandeln, ändern (it is not clear what changes there – condition or appearance or something completely different appears).

– with verbs sein, bleiben, passieren, geschehen, erscheinen, werden, einfallen, ausfallen

Some verbs are always used with sein (like bleiben), but many verbs are used with both haben and sein depending on their meaning, and this is indicated in a good dictionary. That is, you can’t always automatically use sein if you have a verb from a list. It is best to carefully study the dictionary entry about this verb and note the meanings with haben if they are regularly used.

10 best online German dictionaries

some examples of verbs that are usually used with sein, but in some meanings with haben

er hat einen gebrauchten Wagen gefahren (he drove, owned a used car)
der Rennfahrer hat in dieser Saison drei Rennen gefahren (took part)
er hat sich (an dem Balken) ein Loch in den Kopf gerannt (got hurt)
das Wildschwein hat den Jäger angegangen (attacked)

3. Perfect and preterite in a sentence

Preterite

The verb takes its usual place (second in the main sentence). Separable prefixes go to the end.
In a subordinate clause, the verb, together with the prefix, goes to the end of the sentence.

Er lernte fleißig jeden Tag.

Sie schlief erst um 12 Uhr ein, weil sie zu spät aus dem Kino kam.
Sie kam zu spät, weil sie ihr Kind vom Kindergarten abholte

Perfect

Auxiliary verbs (haben or sein) take the place of the main verb (second in the main sentence), the participle goes to the end of the sentence.
In a subordinate clause, both parts of the predicate go to the end.

Ich habe gestern gelernt.

Ich bin gestern erst um 12 Uhr eingeschlafen, weil ich zu spät aus dem Kino gekommen bin.

Forms of irregular verbs in groups

Irregular verbs are grouped together to help teach them.

The following are the major groups (the list is not exhaustive).

а – ie / i – a

o – ie – o

e – a – o

i – a – o

e – a – e

e – o – o

ie – o – o

ei – ie – ie

ei – i – i

i – a – u

a – u – a

Mixed verbs (use regular verb ending -t)

Other topics about #German grammar
#Synonyms
#Idioms in German
Test B1 – #DTZ
Verbs with prepositions in German. Preposition um and preposition über