Präteritum is the simple past tense form. Präteritum of weak verbs in German is formed from the 2nd main form by adding the same personal endings as in the present. The exception is the 1st and 3rd person singular: in the 1st and 3rd person singular of the preterite the verb does not take a personal ending.

For example:

Formation of the preterite of strong verbs in German

The preterite of strong verbs in German is characterized by a change in the root vowel. Strong verbs, like weak ones, take the same personal endings as in the present. In the 1st and 3rd person singular they also do not have personal endings.

For example:

Strong verbs whose roots end in ß, z, tz, sch, have in the 2nd person singular a connecting vowel between the root and the personal ending e:du lasest. In colloquial speech the form du last is used.
The perfect of the verbs haben, sein, werden, tun has its own characteristics (these forms must be remembered).

Imperfect of modal verbs and verb wissen in German

Modal verbs and the verb wissen in German form a preterite like weak verbs, i.e. by adding a suffix -te. The modal verbs können, dürfen, müssen, mögen* lose their umlaut in the preterite.

Conjugation of modal verbs in the preterite in German

The verb wissen takes the suffix into the preterite -te and changes the root vowel.

Conjugation of the verb wissen into the present

Use of the preterite in German
and translating it into Russian

The perfect is used in coherent descriptions, narratives, and in stories about the past. Therefore, it is usually called the past narrative tense. In modern German, it can express both completed and incomplete actions, both single and multiple. Translated into Russian using the past tense.

The German (German) language has three forms of the past tense: Perfekt, Präteritum and Plusquamperfekt. All three mentioned temporary forms are German. verbs (verbs) serve to convey actions in the past tense and do not demonstrate any fundamental differences from each other in terms of conveying events.

Präteritum is a simple past tense, used primarily in various literary works and in situations where the speaker is telling something about past events. Modal verbs, verb. sein and haben are used in it. language, as a rule, precisely at this time.

By its name, Präteritum coincides with the second of the three main forms of German. verbs. The difference between them is the fact that when setting verbs. in this tense form in speech, a personal ending = conjugation is added to the base Präteritum (with the exception of the third and first person singular, in which personal endings are simply absent).

Präteritum: German verbs in the past tense

Perfect is a complex past tense, used primarily in dialogic conversational speech. Perfect conveys a past action associated with the present or precedes some action in the present, expressed in the same sentence by another verb. in Präsens. To form Perfectt, one of the auxiliary verbs is taken. (sein or haben) in the personal form Präsens and the past participle Partizip II (the third of the main forms), formed from the semantic verb. Verb. sein for the formation of Perfect is chosen when the semantic verb. denotes movement, a rapid change in some state. In addition, there are several more verbs that form complex past tenses with sein, which simply need to be remembered: succeed - succeed - gelingen, become - werden, meet - begegnen, remain - bleiben, be - sein, happen - passieren, happen - geschehen. Verb. haben for the formation of Perfect is chosen in cases where the semantic verb. is transitive, modal, reflexive or intransitive, which however is not related to movement, movement or change of state, or conveys a state of a lasting nature (for example, sleep - schlafen).

Perfect: German verbs in the past tense

Plusquamperfekt is also a complex past tense, which is used in speech in such cases when it is necessary to emphasize the precedence of one action to another in the past. The action following the expressed Plusquamperfekt is expressed in such situations by another verb. in Präteritum. Choice of auxiliary verbs. carried out exactly according to the same scheme as for Perfect.

Plusquamperfekt: German verbs in the past tense

Examples of using German past tenses in speech:

• Den ganzen Sommer verbrachte Irma in ihrem kleinen Landhaus, genoss frische Luft und Einsamkeit. – Irma spent the whole summer in her small country house, enjoying the fresh air and solitude (narrative Präteritum).
• Hat dir Irma verraten, wo sie diesen Sommer verbracht hat? – Did Irma reveal to you the secret of where she spent this summer (dialogical Perfekt)?
• Wir sind jetzt bei Irma, die uns in ihr gemütliches kleines Landhaus eingeladen hat . – We are now with Irma, who invited us to her cozy little country house (the second act in Perfekt precedes the first in Präsens).
• Als wir Irma be suchen wollten , entdeckten wir, dass sie vor ein paar Monaten ihre Wohnung verlassen hatte . – When we wanted to visit Irma, we discovered that she had left her apartment several months ago (the last action in Plusquamperfekt precedes the first two in Präteritum).

The perfect in German is not used as often as the perfect (past perfect tense), but without it it is impossible to read literary works. Indeed, in book language it is the form Praeteritum that is most often used.

What is the past tense form

In German, Praeteritum (“preteritum”, also “preterit”) is used to refer to events of the past. From Latin this word is translated as “passed by.” This form can also be called narrative time. If Perfekt (perfect) is used mainly in colloquial speech, then the preterit in German is characteristic of book speech. When a detailed, coherent narrative is being conducted (book, novel, story), Praeteritum is also used.

When is the preterite used in German?

It is believed that the difference between the past tense and the perfect is that the perfect is connected somehow with an event in the present tense. Since in colloquial speech almost all events are connected with the present (there is no point in talking about what is unimportant), then in everyday life the past perfect tense is mainly used. The present remains the role of book time, the language of the media. It is also used in stories about events in the past. For example, a person talks about what he did in the summer, last year/decade, etc. And since this form is rarely used, it already sounds too literary. Therefore, even in first-person stories about past events, the past perfect tense is often used - Perfect.

The perfect in German is still used today along with the perfect if the verbs haben, sein, and modal are used. For example, the phrase “I was at the institute yesterday” will be translated as Ich war gestern im Institut rather than Ich bin gestern im Institut gewesen. And in the sentence “The child wanted a present for Christmas,” the verb in the simple past tense is more likely to be used. Das Kind wollte ein Geschenk zu Weihnachten (not Das Kind hat ein Geschenk…gewollt).

Let's say a few more words about how modal verbs change in the past tense. In this case, Umlaut is removed and the suffix t is added. For example, the stem of the verb müssen (must) in the present form will sound like muss+t+personal ending. If there is no umlaut, then it is not added. Ich soll - Ich sollte, Wir wollen - Wir wollten.

How to form the past tense form

Verbs in the preterite in German can be formed using two different formulas. The simple past tense is formed by adding the suffix t to the stem of the verb. We have the following formula:

Imperfect = stem This formula applies only to weak verbs.

An example is the following: Ich studiere means “I study, study at a university or institute.” But Ich studierte means "I studied."

If the stem of the verb ends in the consonants “d”, “t”, then the vowel sound e is also placed between the stem and the past tense suffix to facilitate pronunciation. Thus, Ich arbeite means “I am working (now or in general),” but Ich arbeitete is “I have been working.”

It's like Past in English, where the past tense suffix is ​​even similar - (e)d. And just like in the language of Shakespeare, German has irregular verbs. For irregular (strong) verbs the formula will be different:

Base + modified base (different for everyone, you need to learn it by heart) + personal endings.

Features of the preterite

It should be remembered that in the singular in the first and third persons the verbs are the same. You should always keep this in mind when using the preterite in German. The example sentences are as follows:

"I was doing homework." - Ich machte die Hausaufgabe. In the third person the verb forms are the same. Er (he) machte die Hausaufgabe.

A feature of the German language is also a special group of verbs, which are something in between, between strong and weak. Thus, they also acquire the suffix t in the past tense, but in the preterite the root vowel changes. So, these are the verbs “to think” (denken). Ich denke - Ich dachte. Here e changes to a. Other verbs are:

Bringen - to bring (Ich bringe, however Ich brachte).

Rennen - to run (Ich renne, but Ich rannte).

(Er)kennen - to know (respectively - to recognize) (Ich (er)kenne, however Ich (er)kannte).

And also the verb nennen - to call (Ich nenne - Ich nannte).

In a word, nothing complicated. The main thing is to just figure everything out.

Except Perfect (perfect tense) There is also a simple past tense in the German language - Präteritum(which in Latin means past past). It is formed using the suffix -t-. Compare:

Ich tanze. – I am dancing (present tense – Präsens).

Ich tanz t e. – I danced (past tense – Präteritum).

This is similar to the English past tense, where the sign of the past tense is the suffix -d-:

I dance – I danced.

ich sage - I say ich sagte - I said

wir, sie, Sie sagen wir, sie, Sie sagten

du sagst du sagtest

ihr sagt ihr sagtet

Feature Präteritum is that in the form he she it) no personal ending added -t, that is: forms I And He match up. (As you remember, the same thing happens with modal verbs.)

As we have already said, the German language has strong (irregular, non-rule) verbs. Sagen – weak, regular verb. And here fallen – strong:

ich, er fiel (I, he fell), wir, sie, Sie fielen,

The past tense suffix is ​​no longer needed here -t-, since the past tense is indicated by the changed word itself (compare with English: I see - I see, I saw - I saw). Forms I And He are the same, there are no personal endings in these forms (all the same as with modal verbs in the present tense).

So, the Russian phrase I bought beer It can be translated into German in two ways:

Ich kaufte Bier. – Präteritum (past tense).

Ich habe Bier gekauft. – Perfect (perfect tense).

Perfect is used when an action performed in the past is connected with the present moment, when it is relevant. For example, you come home and your wife asks you (as they say, it’s not harmful to dream):

Hast du Bier gekauft? -Did you buy beer?

Ja, ich habe Bier gekauft.(You answer with a sense of accomplishment).

She is not interested in the moment in the past when you bought beer, not in history, but in the result of the action - that is, the availability of beer. Is it done or not? Has it happened or not? Hence the name - Perfect (perfect tense).

Präteritum (past tense) used when an action performed in the past has nothing to do with the present moment. It's just a story, a story about some past events. That's why Perfect is used, as a rule, in conversation, in dialogue, when exchanging remarks (after all, it is in conversation that what is most often important is not the action itself in the past, but its relevance for the present, its result), and Präteritum- in a story, in a monologue. For example, you talk about how you spent your vacation:

Ich kaufte ein paar Flaschen Bier... Dann ging ich an den Strand... – I bought a few bottles of beer, went to the beach...

Or tell your child a fairy tale:

Es war einmal ein König, der hatte drei Töchter... - Once upon a time there lived a king, he had three daughters...

Ich kam, ich sah, ich siegte. – I came, I saw, I conquered.

Because the Präteritum needed, as a rule, for a story, then the second person form ( you you) are rarely used. Even in a question to a person telling about something, it is more often used Perfect – so used to it that this form is for replicas, Präteritum with this interruption of the narrator it sounds very literary (albeit beautiful): Kauftest du Bier? Gingt ihr dann an den Strand? Basically, you will encounter and use the following two forms:

(ich, er) kaufte, wir (sie) kauften– for weak verbs,

(ich, er) ging, wir (sie) gingen– for strong verbs.

Table - formation of the preterite:

So: in conversation you use Perfect, in a story (about events not related to the present moment) - Präteritum.

However Präteritum verbs sein, haben and modal verbs (+ verb wissen) is also used in conversation - along with Perfect:

Ich war in der Türkei. (Präteritum) – I was in Turkey.

= Ich bin in der Türkei gewesen. (Perfect)

Ich hatte einen Hund. (Präteritum) – I had a dog.

= Ich habe einen Hund gehabt. (Perfect)

Ich musste ihr helfen. (Präteritum) – I had to help her.

= Ich habe ihr helfen müssen. (Perfect)

Ich wusste das. (Präteritum) - I knew it.

Ich habe das gewusst. (Perfect)

Past tense forms sein -> war (du warst, er war, wir waren…) And haben -> hatte (du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten…) need to remember.

Modal verbs form Präteritum as weak - by inserting a suffix -t-, with the only peculiarity that Umlaut (mutation) in this case it “evaporates”: müssen -> musste, sollen -> sollte, dürfen -> durfte, können -> konnte, wollen -> wollte.

Ich konnte in die Schweiz fahren. Ich hatte Glück. Ich war noch nie in der Schweiz. – I was able to go to Switzerland. I was lucky (I was lucky). I've never been to Switzerland before.

Separately, you need to remember: mögen -> mochte:

Ich mochte früher Käse. Jetzt mag ich keinen Käse. – I used to love cheese. Now I don't like cheese.

Now we can write down the so-called basic forms of the verb (Grundformen):

Infinitiv Präteritum Partizip 2

kaufen kaufte gekauft

(buy) (bought) (purchased)

trinken trunk getrunken

For weak verbs, there is no need to memorize the basic forms, since they are formed regularly. The basic forms of strong verbs must be memorized (as, by the way, in English: drink – drank – drunk, see – saw – seen…)

For some strong verbs, as you remember, you need to remember the present tense form (Präsens) – for forms You And he she it): nehmen – er nimmt (he takes), fallen – er fällt (he falls).

Of particular note is a small group of verbs intermediate between weak and strong:

denken – dachte – gedacht (to think),

bringen – brachte – gebracht (bring),

kennen – kannte – gekannt (to know, to be familiar),

nennen – nannte – genannt (to name),

rennen – rannte – gerannt (run, rush),

senden – sandte – gesandt (to send),

(sich) wenden – wandte – gewandt (to address).

They get in Präteritum and in Partizip 2 suffix -t, like weak verbs, but at the same time they change the root, like many strong ones.

For senden And wenden weak forms are also possible (although strong (with -A-) are used more often:

Wir sandten/sendeten Ihnen vor vier Wochen unsere Angebotsliste. – We sent you a list of proposals four weeks ago.

Sie wandte/wendete kein Auge von ihm. – She didn’t take her eyes off him (didn’t turn away).

Haben Sie sich an die zuständige Stelle gewandt/gewendet? – Have you contacted the appropriate (responsible) authority?

If senden has the meaning broadcast, A wenden – change direction, turn over, then only weak forms are possible:

Wir sendeten Nachrichten. - We conveyed the news.

Er wendete den Wagen (wendete das Schnitzel). – He turned the car (turned the schnitzel over).

Jetzt hat sich das Blatt gewendet. – Now the page has turned (i.e. new times have come).

There are several cases where the same verb can be both weak and strong. At the same time, its meaning changes. For example, hängen in meaning hang has weak forms, and in meaning hang - strong (and in general, in such “double” verbs, the active “double”, as a rule, has weak forms, and the passive one has strong forms):

Sie hängte das neue Bild an die Wand. – She hung a new picture on the wall.

Das Bild hing schief an der Wand. – The picture hung crookedly on the wall.

Hast du die Wäsche aufgehängt? -Have you hung up your laundry?

Der Anzug hat lange im Schrank gehangen. – This suit hung in the closet for a long time.

Verb erschrecken – weak if it means frighten, and strong if it means get scared:

Er erschreckte sie mit einer Spielzeugpistole. “He scared her with a toy gun.”

Sein Aussehen hat mich erschreckt. – His (appearance) frightened me.

Erschrecke nicht! - Do not scare!

Sie erschrak bei seinem Anblick. – She was scared when she saw him (literally: when she saw him).

Ich bin über sein Aussehen erschrocken. – I’m scared by his appearance (the way he looks).

Erschrick nicht! - Do not be afraid!

Verb bewegen could mean like move, set in motion(and then he is weak), so encourage(strong):

Sie bewegte sich im Schlaf. – She moved (i.e., tossed and turned) in her sleep.

Die Geschichte hat mich sehr bewegt. – This story touched me very much.

Sie bewog ihn zum Nachgeben. – She prompted, forced him to yield (prompted him to yield).

Die Ereignisse der letzten Wochen haben ihn bewogen, die Stadt zu verlassen. “The events of recent weeks have prompted him to leave the city.

Verb schaffen - weak in meaning to work hard, to cope with something(by the way, the motto of the Swabians, and indeed the Germans in general: schaffen, sparen, Häusle bauen - to work, save, build a house) and strong in meaning create, create:

Er schaffte die Abschlussprüfung spielend. – He passed the final exam effortlessly.

Wir haben das geschafft! – We achieved it, we did it!

Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde. – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Die Maßnahmen haben kaum neue Arbeitsplätze geschaffen. – These events did not create new jobs.

German Grammar (Reference Book)

Präteritum - book form of the past tense

There are two main forms of the past tense in German: book - preterite (Präteritum, in Russian textbooks often also called the imperfect) and colloquial, i.e. used mainly in colloquial speech - perfect (Perfect). There is also the so-called past in the past tense ( Plusquamperfect), used when describing events preceding some moment in the past tense, the description of which was in Präteritum or in Perfekt.

Education. Weak verbs.

The perfect of weak verbs is usually formed by adding a suffix -t- to the verb stem

If the verb stem ends in -d or -t, then between the stem and the suffix -t- inserted -e-

-e- also inserted between verb stem and suffix -t- if the stem ends in -m or -n and this consonant is preceded by another consonant (except l And r)

Education. Strong verbs.

Präteritum is one of the three main verb forms. Therefore, for strong verbs it should be learned together with the infinitive and Partizip II. The article on participle II shows the insular types of irregular verbs along with the rules for forming Präteritum for them. Once again, the indicative nature of these rules should be noted due to the presence of a large number of exceptions to them.

Like the Präsens forms, the personal forms Präteritum are formed from the stem of the verb, now including a suffix -t-, using personal endings.

Personal endings in Präteritum for weak verbs

Thus, in Präteritum the first and third person singular forms are the same:

According to this rule they conjugate All weak verbs in Präteritum

For strong verbs, a similar rule applies, but with slightly different personal endings.

Just like weak verbs, the first and third person singular forms in Präteritum of strong verbs coincide, but at the same time they have zero endings

Place in sentence

A verb in the present tense occupies the same position as a verb in the present tense. This applies to both main and subordinate clauses

Er lacht den ganzen Abend - He laughs all evening

Er lachte den ganzen Abend - He laughed all evening

Immer wenn ich kam , saß er an seinem Tisch - Always when I came, he was sitting at his desk

They are used in three forms: colloquial (Perfekt), bookish (Imperfekt, or Praeteritum), as well as a special pre-past “plusquaperfect”. What attracts language learners of Schiller and Goethe is that the rules of usage are not so rigid. So, for example, in northern Germany the preterite is often used in colloquial speech. In Austria and Switzerland they will more often say in the perfect.

Conversational past tense form

In speech, Perfect is used to convey past events. In Russian it is called “past perfect tense”. The perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb haben or sein + For weak verbs, Partizip II is unchangeable, formed by adding the prefix ge- and the suffix -t to the stem of the verb. For example: machen - gemacht; malen - gemalt. Irregular verbs in the past tense in German cannot be explained logically. Their shape needs to be remembered. For example: gehen - gegangen, lessen - gelesen.

As for the use of one or another auxiliary verb, the rule is as follows:

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the rules for using auxiliary verbs differ in Germany and other countries. So, in Austria, Switzerland, Bavaria, South Tyrol (Italy) the verbs sit, lie, stand are used with sein. Although here we don't see any state change:

• Ich bin gesessen - I was sitting.
• Mein Freund ist auf dem Bett gelegen - My friend was lying on the bed.
• Wir sind eine Stunde lang im Regen gestanden - We stood in the rain for an hour.

In Germany (and in its northern and central parts, not in Bavaria), the auxiliary haben is used in these cases.

Preterite

For verbs in the past tense in German, Praeterit is used in narrative and media texts. This is the so-called book version of the past.

Forming this form for regular verbs is very simple. You just need to add the suffix -t after the stem.

Compare: I'm studying. - Ich studiert. But: I studied. - Ich studierte.

The same as for the present tense, except for the singular person of the third number. There the form coincides with the first person.

Compare: I studied and he studied. - Ich studierte und er studierte.

We also use the past tense when we tell a fairy tale to our child, or when we tell the biography of a famous person. Sometimes you can speak in the preterite and in colloquial speech. For example, if you tell your friends about how you spent your vacation. For example: Ich war in Thailand. - I was in Thailand. Ich ging oft zum Strand. - I often went to the beach.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that, despite the fact that the language of the narrative is the simple past, you can still find the perfect in books and stories. It is used when a story contains dialogue between two or more characters.

Using the plusquaperfect

The complex tense form in German is the so-called Plusquamperfekt. It is used to emphasize the relationship between two actions that occurred in the past. Also used to indicate that one action follows from another.

Usually used with past tense verbs. In German, to emphasize the relationship between these actions, the words then (dann), after that (nachdem), before (frueher), a month ago (vor einem Monat), a year ago (vor einem Jahr) and others are used.

• Meine Freundin rief mich an und sagte mir, dass sie vor einem Monat nach Wien gefahren war. - My friend called and told me that she left for Vienna a month ago.
• Nachdem ich die Uni absolviert hatte, fang ich mit der Arbeit an. - After I graduated from university, I started working.
• Mein Freund hatte die Fachschule beendet, dann trat er ins Institut ein. - First, my friend graduated from technical school, then entered college.

German modal verbs in the past tense

Mostly Modal Verbe is used in the simple preterite. This makes speech easier; you don’t have to say three whole verbs if you use the perfect.

Compare: He shouldn't have lied. - Er sollte nicht luegen. Ich hat nicht lugen gesollt. The second phrase is much more difficult to understand.

Constructing the past tense form for modal verbs is simple. You just need to remove all the umlauts and stems, add the suffix -t and a personal ending, and you have a past tense verb conjugation. The German language is, in principle, very logical.

The exception is the verb moegen. For him the past tense form is mochte. I love reading newspapers. - Ich mag Zeitungen lesen. But: I loved reading newspapers. - Jch mochte Zeitungen lesen.

How to learn past tense in German

The most common form is the perfect, so it should be learned first. If there are no problems with the correct verbs and everything is easy to remember, then it is better to learn the incorrect ones in the form of a table. There are certain patterns, for example, “group ei - ie -i e”: Bleiben - blieb - geblieben; schreiben - schrieb - geschrieben, steigen - stieg - gestiegen. You can break all known verbs into similar subgroups and learn them by heart.

You can take such a table at first every time you come to a German lesson. Verbs in the past tense are easiest to remember this way.

As for the auxiliary sein and haben, the first group is easiest to learn. There are much fewer such verbs. That is why it will be easier to remember them. The conjugation of verbs in the past tense of the German language must be memorized along with the auxiliary. This is also reflected in dictionaries. If there is (s) in parentheses next to the verb, then the auxiliary verb will be sein, and if (h), then haben.