The Präteritum: When Germans Use the Simple Past
How the Präteritum works, why it dominates written German and certain verbs in speech, its regular and irregular forms, and regional differences.
Alongside the Perfekt, German has a simple past tense, the Präteritum. It's the tense of novels, newspapers and fairy tales, and it also appears in speech for a few very common verbs.
Where you meet it
- Written narrative: novels, reports, news and history.
- Fairy tales: Es war einmal ... — Once upon a time there was...
- Spoken German: mainly for sein, haben and the modal verbs.
Forming the Präteritum
Regular (weak) verbs: stem + -te + endings
| Person | machen |
|---|---|
| ich | machte |
| du | machtest |
| er/sie/es | machte |
| wir | machten |
| ihr | machtet |
| sie/Sie | machten |
Stems ending in -t or -d add -e-: arbeitete, wartete.
Irregular (strong) verbs: the stem vowel changes, with no ending in the ich and er/sie/es forms.
| Person | gehen |
|---|---|
| ich | ging |
| du | gingst |
| er/sie/es | ging |
| wir | gingen |
| ihr | gingt |
| sie/Sie | gingen |
Essential verbs
sein: ich war, du warst, er war, wir waren, ihr wart, sie waren haben: ich hatte, du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten, ihr hattet, sie hatten werden: ich wurde, du wurdest, er wurde, wir wurden
Modals
konnte, musste, wollte, durfte, sollte, mochte:
- Ich konnte nicht kommen. — I couldn't come.
- Er musste arbeiten. — He had to work.
- Wir wollten schwimmen gehen. — We wanted to go swimming.
Note: modals in the Präteritum have no umlaut (konnte, not könnte).
Common irregular verbs
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gehen | ging | went |
| kommen | kam | came |
| sehen | sah | saw |
| essen | aß | ate |
| trinken | trank | drank |
| geben | gab | gave |
| nehmen | nahm | took |
| sprechen | sprach | spoke |
| schreiben | schrieb | wrote |
| lesen | las | read |
| finden | fand | found |
| fahren | fuhr | drove |
| bleiben | blieb | stayed |
| bringen | brachte | brought |
| denken | dachte | thought |
| wissen | wusste | knew |
| schlafen | schlief | slept |
Word order
Just like the present: verb second, and in subordinate clauses at the end.
- Gestern ging ich ins Kino.
- Er sagte, dass er müde war.
Separable verbs
The prefix goes to the end: Er stand früh auf. Sie rief mich an.
Perfekt or Präteritum?
- Speaking: use the Perfekt (Ich habe gegessen), except with sein, haben and modals.
- Writing a story or formal report: use the Präteritum.
- Mixing: German speakers often mix them, especially with sein and haben.
Regional differences
In southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, people tend to use the Perfekt nearly everywhere in speech, and the Präteritum sounds bookish. In northern Germany, the Präteritum is a little more common in speech.
Learning strategy
- Learn war, hatte and the modals first.
- Learn the irregular verbs as three-part sets: gehen – ging – gegangen.
- Recognise the Präteritum when reading, even if you use the Perfekt when speaking.
- Read simple stories and fairy tales.
Common mistakes
- Adding endings to ich and er forms of irregular verbs.
- Using könnte for konnte.
- Using the Präteritum for everything in speech.
Dictionary tip
Dictionaries give the principal parts of irregular verbs: infinitive, Präteritum, past participle.
English German Dictionary
Offline English–German dictionary that handles compound words and noun gender
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