B1Tenses

German Simple Past Tense (Präteritum)

The Präteritum is used primarily in written German and for modal verbs/haben/sein in spoken German.

Key Rules

  • 1Regular verbs: stem + -te, -test, -te, -ten, -tet, -ten
  • 2Irregular verbs: stem change + special endings
  • 3Common in writing, narratives, and formal contexts
  • 4sein: war, haben: hatte, werden: wurde

Examples

Ich war gestern in Berlin.

I was in Berlin yesterday.

Er hatte keine Zeit.

He had no time.

Sie ging ins Kino.

She went to the cinema.

Related Grammar Topics

Tenses
German Perfect Tense (Perfekt)
A2
Tenses
German Present Tense (Präsens)
A1

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