Grammar
A2German simple past (Präteritum)
Präteritum shows up in stories, news, and writing. Learn key forms, then practise spotting and using them.
- Common written-past verb forms
- Recognition practice for reading
- Bridge from Perfekt to written German
Präteritum
For an action in the past, German mainly uses two tenses: the Perfekt and the Präteritum (simple past).
The Präteritum is used:
- With auxiliary verbs (sein, haben, werden) and modal verbs (können, müssen, …)—even in everyday speech
- In written language: stories, news, reports
- More often in northern Germany in speech
In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, spoken past is usually the Perfekt. Learn both: you will read Präteritum everywhere.
Weak (regular) verbs
Most verbs add -te / -test / -te / -ten / -tet / -ten to the stem:
Ich machte meine Hausaufgaben
I did my homework
Du spieltest Tennis
You played tennis
Sie arbeiteten den ganzen Tag
They worked all day
If the stem ends in -t, -d, or certain consonant clusters, insert an extra -e-: arbeitete, redete.
sein and haben
These two are essential in Präteritum—and very irregular:
Ich war krank
I was ill
Wir waren zu Hause
We were at home
Ich hatte einen Hund
I had a dog
Hattest du gestern Zeit?
Did you have time yesterday?
Strong (irregular) verbs
Strong verbs change the stem vowel (and sometimes more) instead of only adding -te:
Ich ging nach Hause
I went home
Sie kam spät
She came late
Er sah einen Film
He watched a film
Wir schrieben einen Brief
We wrote a letter
Common pairs to remember: gehen → ging, kommen → kam, sehen → sah, schreiben → schrieb, fahren → fuhr, essen → aß.
Modal verbs
Modals almost always appear in Präteritum in speech and writing:
Ich konnte nicht kommen
I could not come
Wir mussten warten
We had to wait
Sie wollte Deutsch lernen
She wanted to learn German
Er sollte früher gehen
He was supposed to leave earlier
Präteritum vs Perfekt
Gestern war ich müde
Yesterday I was tired (Präteritum — natural)
Gestern bin ich spät gekommen
Yesterday I arrived late (Perfekt — everyday speech)
Tip: use Präteritum freely for sein/haben/modals; for most other verbs in conversation, Perfekt is safer until you are reading stories and news.
Preterite
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What’s next
After this lesson, the path continues with Passive (A2)
Understand and form passive sentences. · View full path · Review weak spots
Listening · Preterite
Play the German answer, then type or speak what you heard.
Vocab · Preterite
Story and news vocabulary
| Article | German | English | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| der | König | king | die Könige | Der König war alt. The king was old. |
| die | Königin | queen | die Königinnen | Die Königin war alt. The queen was old. |
| das | Schloss | castle / palace | die Schlösser | Das Schloss war alt. The castle was old. |
| der | Krieg | war | die Kriege | Der Krieg war alt. The war was old. |
| die | Geschichte | story / history | die Geschichten | Die Geschichte war alt. The story was old. |
| das | Jahrhundert | century | die Jahrhunderte | Das Jahrhundert war alt. The century was old. |
| der | Held | hero | die Helden | Der Held war alt. The hero was old. |
| die | Zeitung | newspaper | die Zeitungen | Die Zeitung war alt. The newspaper was old. |
| das | Ereignis | event | die Ereignisse | Das Ereignis war alt. The event was old. |
| der | Bericht | report | die Berichte | Der Bericht war alt. The report was old. |
| die | Welt | world | die Welten | Die Welt war alt. The world was old. |
| das | Land | country | die Länder | Das Land war alt. The country was old. |
| der | Mensch | human / person | die Menschen | Der Mensch war alt. The human was old. |
| die | Nacht | night | die Nächte | Die Nacht war alt. The night was old. |
| das | Ende | end | die Enden | Das Ende war alt. The end was old. |
| die | Wahrheit | truth | die Wahrheiten | Die Wahrheit war klar. The truth was clear. |
Tip: learn article + noun together ( der / die / das ). Bookmark words to review later in Saved words .