German has two main past tenses: the Perfekt (used in speech and informal writing) and the Präteritum (used in written German and with sein/haben/modal verbs). Knowing when to use each is key!
⏮️ Perfekt — Formed with haben or sein + Partizip II
| German | English | Notes / Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ich habe gegessen. | I have eaten / I ate. | haben + gegessen |
| Ich bin gegangen. | I have gone / I went. | sein + gegangen |
| Er hat gespielt. | He played. | haben + gespielt |
| Wir sind gefahren. | We went / drove. | sein + gefahren |
| Sie hat gearbeitet. | She worked. | haben + gearbeitet |
| Du bist geblieben. | You stayed. | sein + geblieben |
📝 Präteritum — Common Irregular Forms
| German | English | Notes / Example |
|---|---|---|
| ich war | I was | sein → war |
| ich hatte | I had | haben → hatte |
| ich ging | I went | gehen → ging |
| ich kam | I came | kommen → kam |
| ich sah | I saw | sehen → sah |
| ich konnte | I could | können → konnte |
✏️ Übungen (Practice Exercises)
Exercise 1: Try using 3 words from the table above in a sentence! Write them down.
Exercise 2: Cover the English column and test yourself — do you know all the words?
Exercise 3: Take the quiz below to test your knowledge with interactive questions!
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