The Perfekt is one of the most common ways to express the past tense in German, especially in spoken language. It’s formed using a helping verb (“haben” or “sein”) and the past participle of the main verb. In this chapter, we’ll learn how to form the Perfekt and when to use it.

Formation of the Perfekt

The Perfekt tense is formed using the following structure:

Subject + haben/sein (conjugated in present tense) + (Other words) + Past Participle (at the end)

Choosing the Correct Helping Verb: “haben” or “sein”?

The most challenging part of forming the Perfekt is deciding whether to use “haben” or “sein” as the helping verb. Here are some general guidelines:

Most verbs use “haben”. This includes transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object) and most intransitive verbs (verbs that don’t take a direct object).

Verbs of motion (movement from one place to another) use “sein”. Examples include: gehen (to go), fahren (to drive), kommen (to come), reisen (to travel), laufen (to run).

Verbs that describe a change of state use “sein”. Examples include: einschlafen (to fall asleep), aufwachen (to wake up), sterben (to die), werden (to become).

The verbs “sein” (to be), “bleiben” (to stay), and “passieren” (to happen) always use “sein”.

Forming the Past Participle

The past participle is usually formed by adding “ge-” to the beginning of the verb stem and “-t” to the end for regular verbs. Irregular verbs have irregular past participles.

Regular Verbs:

kaufen (to buy) -> gekauft (ge-kauft)

spielen (to play) -> gespielt (ge-spielt)

lernen (to learn) -> gelernt (ge-lernt)

machen (to do) -> gemacht (ge-macht)

Irregular Verbs: Irregular verbs have irregular past participles that you’ll need to memorize. Here are a few examples:

essen (to eat) -> gegessen (ge-ges-sen)

trinken (to drink) -> getrunken (ge-trun-ken)

sprechen (to speak) -> gesprochen (ge-shpro-hen)

sehen (to see) -> gesehen (ge-zay-en)

sein (to be) -> gewesen (ge-vay-zen)

haben (to have) -> gehabt (ge-hapht)

Verbs with Inseparable Prefixes: Verbs with inseparable prefixes (be-, ge-, emp-, ent-, er-, ver-, zer-) do not add “ge-” to the past participle. Examples:

besuchen (to visit) -> besucht (be-zooht)

verkaufen (to sell) -> verkauft (fer-kauft)

Verbs Ending in -ieren: Verbs ending in -ieren also do not add “ge-” to the past participle. Examples:

studieren (to study) -> studiert (shtoo-deert)

fotografieren (to photograph) -> fotografiert (fo-to-gra-feert)

Examples of Perfekt Sentences

With “haben”:

Ich habe das Buch gekauft. (ihh hah-be das booh ge-kauft) – I bought the book.

Du hast Deutsch gelernt. (doo hast doitch ge-lernt) – You learned German.

Er hat Fußball gespielt. (air hat foos-bahl ge-shpeelt) – He played soccer.

Wir haben gegessen. (veer hah-ben ge-ges-sen) – We ate.

Sie haben das Haus besucht. (zee hah-ben das haus be-zooht) – They visited the house.

With “sein”:

Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren. (ihh bin nahh ber-leen ge-fah-ren) – I traveled to Berlin.

Du bist zu spät gekommen. (doo bist tsoo shpate ge-ko-men) – You came too late.

Er ist eingeschlafen. (air ist ain-ge-shla-fen) – He fell asleep.

Wir sind zu Hause geblieben. (veer zint tsoo hau-ze ge-blee-ben) – We stayed at home.

Was ist passiert? (vas ist pa-seert) – What happened?

Word Order in Perfekt Sentences

As mentioned before, the helping verb (“haben” or “sein”) is conjugated and placed in the second position in the sentence. The past participle is always placed at the very end of the sentence.

When to Use the Perfekt

The Perfekt is most commonly used in spoken German to talk about completed actions in the past. It’s generally preferred over the Präteritum (simple past) in everyday conversation, especially in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Word Bank

Perfekt (per-fekt) – Perfect Tense

haben (hah-ben) – to have

sein (zain) – to be

Partizip Perfekt (par-tee-tseep per-fekt) – Past Participle

kaufen (kau-fen) – to buy

spielen (shpee-len) – to play

lernen (ler-nen) – to learn

essen (es-sen) – to eat

trinken (trin-ken) – to drink

fahren (fah-ren) – to drive

kommen (ko-men) – to come

bleiben (blai-ben) – to stay

passieren (pa-seer-en) – to happen

besuchen (be-zoo-hen) – to visit

Exercises

Form the past participle of the following verbs: machen, reisen, essen, besuchen, bleiben.

Choose the correct helping verb (“haben” or “sein”) for the following verbs: spielen, fahren, lernen, sein, passieren.

Translate the following sentences into German using the Perfekt tense:

I bought a car.

You traveled to Italy.

He ate an apple.

We visited our grandparents.

They stayed at home.

What happened?

Rewrite the sentences in exercise 3 in the present tense.

Create five original sentences in the Perfekt tense, using a variety of verbs and helping verbs.

That completes Chapter 10! You now know how to form and use the Perfekt tense, a key tool for expressing yourself in the past in German. Next, we’ll discuss the Simple Past, or Präteritum, tense.

Chapter 11: Past Tense – Simple Past (Präteritum)

While the Perfekt is the most common way to express the past tense in spoken German, the Präteritum (also known as the Imperfekt or Simple Past) is frequently used in written German, especially in formal contexts, literature, and news articles. It’s also used for certain common verbs in spoken German.

Formation of the Präteritum

The Präteritum is formed by changing the stem of the verb and adding specific endings. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern, while irregular verbs have irregular stem changes.

Regular Verb Conjugation in the Präteritum

To conjugate a regular verb in the Präteritum, follow these steps:

Find the verb stem: Take the infinitive form of the verb (the form ending in “-en”) and remove the “-en” ending.

Add “-te-” to the stem.

Add the appropriate endings to the stem based on the subject pronoun.

Here’s an example using the verb “machen” (to make/do):

Infinitive: machen (mah-hen)

Stem: mach-

Präteritum Stem: mach-te-

Now, let’s add the endings:

ich machte (ihh mahh-te) – I made/did

du machtest (doo mahh-test) – you made/did (informal, singular)

er/sie/es machte (air/zee/es mahh-te) – he/she/it made/did

wir machten (veer mahh-ten) – we made/did

ihr machtet (eer mahh-tet) – you made/did (informal, plural)

sie/Sie machten (zee/zee mahh-ten) – they made/did / you made/did (formal)

Notice that the first-person singular (ich) and the third-person singular (er/sie/es) forms have the same ending in the Präteritum (-te).

Common Regular Verbs in the Präteritum

spielen (to play) -> ich spielte, du spieltest, er spielte, wir spielten, ihr spieltet, sie spielten

lernen (to learn) -> ich lernte, du lerntest, er lernte, wir lernten, ihr lerntet, sie lernten

arbeiten (to work) -> ich arbeitete, du arbeitetest, er arbeitete, wir arbeiteten, ihr arbeitetet, sie arbeiteten

kaufen (to buy) -> ich kaufte, du kauftest, er kaufte, wir kauften, ihr kauftet, sie kauften

Irregular Verb Conjugation in the Präteritum

Irregular verbs have irregular stem changes in the Präteritum and often different endings compared to regular verbs. These verbs need to be memorized.

Important Irregular Verbs in the Präteritum: “sein” and “haben”

The verbs “sein” (to be) and “haben” (to have) are frequently used in the Präteritum, so it’s essential to know their forms:

sein (to be):

ich war (ihh var) – I was

du warst (doo varst) – you were (informal, singular)

er/sie/es war (air/zee/es var) – he/she/it was

wir waren (veer vah-ren) – we were

ihr wart (eer vart) – you were (informal, plural)

sie/Sie waren (zee/zee vah-ren) – they were / you were (formal)

haben (to have):

ich hatte (ihh hah-te) – I had

du hattest (doo hah-test) – you had (informal, singular)

er/sie/es hatte (air/zee/es hah-te) – he/she/it had

wir hatten (veer hah-ten) – we had

ihr hattet (eer hah-tet) – you had (informal, plural)

sie/Sie hatten (zee/zee hah-ten) – they had / you had (formal)

Other Common Irregular Verbs in the Präteritum

Here are a few more common irregular verbs and their Präteritum forms:

gehen (to go) -> ich ging, du gingst, er ging, wir gingen, ihr gingt, sie gingen

kommen (to come) -> ich kam, du kamst, er kam, wir kamen, ihr kamt, sie kamen

finden (to find) -> ich fand, du fandest, er fand, wir fanden, ihr fandet, sie fanden

essen (to eat) -> ich aß, du aßest, er aß, wir aßen, ihr aßt, sie aßen

trinken (to drink) -> ich trank, du trankst, er trank, wir tranken, ihr trankt, sie tranken

Modal Verbs in the Präteritum

Modal verbs also have specific Präteritum forms, which are commonly used:

können -> ich konnte, du konntest, er konnte, wir konnten, ihr konntet, sie konnten

müssen -> ich musste, du musstest, er musste, wir mussten, ihr musstet, sie mussten

wollen -> ich wollte, du wolltest, er wollte, wir wollten, ihr wolltet, sie wollten

dürfen -> ich durfte, du durftest, er durfte, wir durften, ihr durftet, sie durften

sollen -> ich sollte, du solltest, er sollte, wir sollten, ihr solltet, sie sollten

mögen -> ich mochte, du mochtest, er mochte, wir mochten, ihr mochtet, sie mochten

Examples of Präteritum Sentences

Ich war in Berlin. (ihh var in ber-leen) – I was in Berlin.

Er hatte ein Auto. (air hah-te ain au-to) – He had a car.

Sie ging ins Kino. (zee ging ins kee-no) – She went to the cinema.

Wir lernten Deutsch. (veer lernten doitch) – We learned German.

Ich wollte einen Kaffee trinken. (ihh vol-te ai-nen kah-fay trin-ken) – I wanted to drink a coffee.

When to Use the Präteritum

Formal Writing: The Präteritum is commonly used in formal written German, such as news articles, reports, essays, and stories.

Certain Verbs in Spoken German: The Präteritum is frequently used in spoken German for the verbs sein, haben, and modal verbs, even though the Perfekt is generally preferred for other verbs.

Regional Preferences: In Northern Germany, the Präteritum is sometimes more common in spoken language than in Southern Germany or Austria.

Word Bank

Präteritum (pray-tay-ree-toom) – Simple Past (also called Imperfekt)

sein (zain) – to be

haben (hah-ben) – to have

gehen (gay-en) – to go

kommen (ko-men) – to come

finden (fin-den) – to find

essen (es-sen) – to eat

trinken (trin-ken) – to drink

Exercises

Conjugate the following regular verbs in the Präteritum: spielen, kaufen, arbeiten.

Conjugate the verbs sein and haben in the Präteritum.

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the Präteritum:

Ich ______ (sein) in Berlin.

Er ______ (haben) ein neues Auto.

Sie ______ (gehen) ins Kino.

Wir ______ (lernen) Deutsch.

Du ______ (wollen) einen Kaffee trinken.

Translate the following sentences into German using the Präteritum:

I was at home.

He had a cat.

She went to the store.

We learned German last year.

You wanted to travel to Italy.

Rewrite the sentences from Exercise 4 using the Perfekt tense.

That completes Chapter 11! You now know how to form and use the Präteritum. You understand that some verbs tend to be in the Präteritum more than others and when it is appropriate to use them.

Chapter 12: Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words that add detail and color to your language. Adjectives describe nouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. In this chapter, we’ll learn how to use adjectives and adverbs effectively in German.

Adjectives (Adjektive)

Adjectives describe nouns, providing information about their qualities, characteristics, or attributes. In German, adjectives usually come before the noun they modify.

Adjective Agreement

One of the key features of German adjectives is that they must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. This means the adjective endings change depending on the gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) of the noun.

Adjective Endings: A Simplified Overview

Adjective endings depend on whether a definite article (der, die, das) or an indefinite article (ein, eine) precedes the noun. If there is no article, a strong declension is used.

With Definite Articles (Der-Words): If a definite article (der, die, das, or their case-modified forms like den, dem, des) precedes the noun, the adjective takes “weak” endings. Generally, these endings are “-e” or “-en.”

With Indefinite Articles (Ein-Words): If an indefinite article (ein, eine, or their case-modified forms like einen, einem) precedes the noun, the adjective takes “mixed” endings, which are a combination of strong and weak endings.

Without Articles (Strong Declension): If there is no article before the noun, the adjective takes “strong” endings. In this case, the adjective endings indicate the gender, number and case of the noun.

Because it is complex, we will focus on adjective endings after definite articles in the Nominative, Accusative, and Dative cases in this chapter.

Adjective Endings After Definite Articles (Nominative)

Masculine: -e (Der kleine Mann – The small man)

Feminine: -e (Die kleine Frau – The small woman)

Neuter: -e (Das kleine Kind – The small child)

Plural: -en (Die kleinen Kinder – The small children)

Adjective Endings After Definite Articles (Accusative)

Masculine: -en (Ich sehe den kleinen Mann – I see the small man)

Feminine: -e (Ich sehe die kleine Frau – I see the small woman)

Neuter: -e (Ich sehe das kleine Kind – I see the small child)

Plural: -en (Ich sehe die kleinen Kinder – I see the small children)

Adjective Endings After Definite Articles (Dative)

Masculine: -en (Ich helfe dem kleinen Mann – I help the small man)

Feminine: -en (Ich helfe der kleinen Frau – I help the small woman)

Neuter: -en (Ich helfe dem kleinen Kind – I help the small child)

Plural: -en (Ich helfe den kleinen Kindern – I help the small children)

Common Adjectives

Here are some common German adjectives:

gut (goot) – good

schön (shön) – beautiful

groß (grohs) – big

klein (klain) – small

alt (ahlt) – old

neu (noi) – new

jung (yoong) – young

freundlich (froint-lihh) – friendly

interessant (in-te-res-sant) – interesting

wichtig (vihh-tihh) – important

billig (billig) – cheap

teuer (toi-er) – expensive

Examples Using Adjectives

Der kleine Hund ist süß. (dare klai-ne hoont ist züss) – The small dog is cute. (Nominative)

Ich sehe den kleinen Hund. (ihh zay-e den klai-nen hoont) – I see the small dog. (Accusative)

Ich gebe dem kleinen Kind einen Apfel. (ihh gay-be dem klai-nen kint ai-nen ahp-fel) – I give the small child an apple. (Dative)

Das ist ein schönes Bild. (das ist ain shö-nes bilt) – That is a beautiful picture. (Note: Here we used an indefinite article. This creates slightly different endings that will be covered in future lessons.)

Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives

Adjectives can be used to compare things. The comparative form compares two things, while the superlative form compares three or more things or indicates the highest degree of a quality.

Comparative: To form the comparative, add “-er” to the adjective stem. Sometimes, if a vowel is present it will become an umlaut.

schnell (fast) -> schneller (faster)

alt (old) -> älter (older)

groß (big) -> größer (bigger)

“als” (as/than) is used to compare the two items: Mein Auto ist schneller als dein Auto. (My car is faster than your car)

Superlative: To form the superlative, add “-ste” to the adjective stem, and use the form am… -sten if used before a noun. Often, there will be an umlaut if a vowel is present.

schnell (fast) -> am schnellsten (the fastest)

alt (old) -> am ältesten (the oldest)

groß (big) -> am größten (the biggest)

Mein Auto ist am schnellsten. (My car is the fastest.)

Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms

Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. Here are some of the most common:

gut (good) -> besser (better) -> am besten (the best)

viel (much/many) -> mehr (more) -> am meisten (the most)

gern (gladly) -> lieber (more gladly) -> am liebsten (most gladly)

Adverbs (Adverbien)

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They provide information about how, when, where, or to what extent something is done. Many adverbs are formed by taking the adjective and dropping the adjective ending.

Common Adverbs

Here are some common German adverbs:

sehr (zair) – very

schnell (shnel) – quickly, fast

langsam (lang-zahm) – slowly

oft (oft) – often

selten (zel-ten) – rarely

immer (im-mer) – always

nie (nee) – never

gern (gern) – gladly

hier (heer) – here

dort (dort) – there

Examples Using Adverbs

Er fährt sehr schnell. (air fairt zair shnel) – He drives very fast.

Sie spricht langsam. (zee shpriht lang-zahm) – She speaks slowly.

Ich gehe oft ins Kino. (ihh gay-e oft ins kee-no) – I often go to the cinema.

Wir lernen gern Deutsch. (veer ler-nen gern doitch) – We learn German gladly.

Das Haus ist dort. (das haus ist dort) – The house is there.

Word Order with Adverbs

Adverbs can often be placed in different positions in a sentence, depending on the emphasis you want to convey. However, adverbs of time often come before adverbs of place.

Word Bank

Adjektiv (at-yek-teef) – Adjective

Adverb (at-verp) – Adverb

gut (goot) – good

schön (shön) – beautiful

groß (grohs) – big

klein (klain) – small

schnell (shnel) – fast/quickly

langsam (lang-zahm) – slowly

sehr (zair) – very

Comparative (kom-pa-ra-teef) – Comparative

Superlative (zoo-per-la-teef) – Superlative

Exercises

Provide the comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives: jung, interessant, teuer.

Fill in the blanks with the correct adjective ending (after the definite article) in the nominative case:

Der ______ (alt) Mann liest.

Die ______ (schön) Frau singt.

Das ______ (klein) Kind spielt.

Translate the following sentences into German, using adjectives and adverbs:

The big house is very expensive.

She speaks German well. (gut)

The old man walks slowly.

He is the fastest runner.

Rewrite the sentences in exercise 3 using the comparative form of the adjectives or adverbs, making a new comparative sentence.

Ex: “My house is bigger than yours”

Create five original sentences in German, using a variety of adjectives and adverbs, paying attention to adjective endings.

That completes Chapter 12! You now have a solid understanding of adjectives, their agreement with nouns, how to use them in comparative and superlative forms, and how to use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Chapter 13: Separable and Inseparable Verbs

Many German verbs consist of a prefix attached to a base verb. These verbs can be categorized as either separable or inseparable, and this distinction affects how they are used in sentences, especially in the present and past tenses. Understanding separable and inseparable verbs is essential for correct sentence structure.

Separable Verbs (Trennbare Verben)

Separable verbs have a prefix that separates from the base verb in main clauses in the present and past tenses. The prefix moves to the end of the clause.

Common Separable Prefixes:

Here are some of the most common separable prefixes:

ab- (off, away)

an- (on, at)

auf- (up, open)

aus- (out, from)

bei- (at, near)

ein- (in, into)

mit- (with, along)

nach- (after, to)

vor- (before, in front of)

zu- (to, closed)

zurück- (back)

Examples of Separable Verbs:

abfahren (to depart): ab- + fahren

ankommen (to arrive): an- + kommen

aufmachen (to open): auf- + machen

ausgehen (to go out): aus- + gehen

einkaufen (to shop): ein- + kaufen

mitkommen (to come along): mit- + kommen

vorbereiten (to prepare): vor- + bereiten

zumachen (to close): zu- + machen

zurückkommen (to come back): zurück- + kommen

Sentence Structure with Separable Verbs

In the present and simple past (Präteritum) tenses, the prefix separates from the verb and moves to the end of the main clause. The base verb is conjugated according to the subject.

Ich kaufe heute ein. (ihh kau-fe hoi-te ain) – I am shopping today. (einkaufen – to shop)

Er kommt morgen an. (air komt mor-gen ahn) – He is arriving tomorrow. (ankommen – to arrive)

Wir machen das Fenster auf. (veer mah-hen das fen-ster auf) – We are opening the window. (aufmachen – to open)

Sie rief mich gestern an. (zee reef mihh ges-tern ahn) – She called me yesterday. (anrufen – to call (on the phone))

Separable Verbs in the Perfekt Tense

In the Perfekt tense, the “ge-” prefix of the past participle is inserted between the separable prefix and the verb stem.

Ich habe eingekauft. (ihh hah-be ain-ge-kauft) – I have shopped. (einkaufen)

Er ist angekommen. (air ist ahn-ge-ko-men) – He has arrived. (ankommen)

Wir haben aufgemacht. (veer hah-ben auf-ge-mahht) – We have opened. (aufmachen)

Inseparable Verbs (Untrennbare Verben)

Inseparable verbs have prefixes that do not separate from the base verb. The verb acts as a single unit in all tenses.

Common Inseparable Prefixes

Here are some of the most common inseparable prefixes:

be-

ge-

emp-

ent-

er-

ver-

zer-

miss-

Examples of Inseparable Verbs

besuchen (to visit): be- + suchen

gefallen (to please): ge- + fallen

empfehlen (to recommend): emp- + fehlen

enthalten (to contain): ent- + halten

erklären (to explain): er- + klären

verkaufen (to sell): ver- + kaufen

zerstören (to destroy): zer- + stören

missverstehen (to misunderstand): miss- + verstehen

Sentence Structure with Inseparable Verbs

In the present, past, and Perfekt tenses, the inseparable verb stays together as a single unit.

Ich besuche meine Freunde. (ihh be-zoo-he mai-ne froin-de) – I visit my friends.

Er erklärte die Situation. (air air-klayr-te dee zee-too-a-tsee-ohn) – He explained the situation.

Wir haben das Haus verkauft. (veer hah-ben das haus fer-kauft) – We have sold the house.

Sie missversteht mich oft. (zee mis-fer-shtate mihh oft) – She often misunderstands me.

Inseparable Verbs in the Perfekt Tense

Because the “ge-” prefix is not added to the past participle of inseparable verbs, you simply use the base verb with its inseparable prefix.

Ich habe meine Freunde besucht. (ihh hah-be mai-ne froin-de be-zooht) – I have visited my friends.

Er hat die Situation erklärt. (air hat dee zee-too-a-tsee-ohn air-klayrt) – He has explained the situation.

Distinguishing Separable and Inseparable Verbs

Unfortunately, there is no simple rule to determine whether a verb is separable or inseparable. You generally have to memorize them. However, there are a few helpful hints:

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