German has two common past tenses: Perfekt (used in spoken German) and Präteritum (used in writing and narrative). The key insight: certain high-frequency verbs — sein, haben and modal verbs — are almost always used in Präteritum even in spoken German.
Präteritum vs Perfekt: When to Use Which
| Tense | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Perfekt | Spoken German, casual writing | Ich habe gegessen. (I ate.) |
| Präteritum | Written narrative, news, stories; sein/haben/modals always | Ich war müde. (I was tired.) |
The rule of thumb: In everyday conversation, use Perfekt for almost everything — EXCEPT for sein (war), haben (hatte) and modal verbs. These always sound more natural in Präteritum.
sein in Präteritum: war
haben in Präteritum: hatte
Modal Verbs in Präteritum
| Infinitive | Präteritum (ich) | English |
|---|---|---|
| können | konnte | could |
| wollen | wollte | wanted to |
| müssen | musste | had to |
| dürfen | durfte | was allowed to |
| sollen | sollte | was supposed to |
| mögen | mochte | liked |
Regular Verb Pattern
For regular verbs, the Präteritum stem = infinitive stem + -te endings:
Common Irregular Verbs
| Infinitive | Präteritum | English |
|---|---|---|
| gehen | ging | went |
| kommen | kam | came |
| fahren | fuhr | drove / travelled |
| sehen | sah | saw |
| schreiben | schrieb | wrote |
| lesen | las | read |
| sprechen | sprach | spoke |
| geben | gab | gave |
| nehmen | nahm | took |
| denken | dachte | thought |
⚠️ Irregular Präteritum forms must be memorised individually — there's no single pattern. Learn them grouped by vowel change: a→i (fahren/fuhr), e→a (geben/gab), ei→ie (schreiben/schrieb).
Practice Präteritum with DeutschGo
Grammar games and AI dialogues that put Präteritum into natural context.
Download Free