Preterite Tense
The preterite tense describes completed actions in the past and is key for telling stories, recounting events, and reporting sequences. This guide focuses on forming and using the preterite with regular and common irregular verbs.
Usage
The preterite (also called the simple past) is used for actions that were completed at a specific time, for narrations, and for sequences of past events. In spoken German, the perfect often replaces the preterite for many verbs, but the preterite remains standard in writing and with certain auxiliaries and modal verbs.
Regular Verbs
Regular verbs form the preterite by adding predictable endings to the verb stem, making them straightforward to learn and apply in narrations and reports. This section shows the endings for regular -en verbs using machen as an example.
-ar Verbs
German does not have native -ar verbs; such endings appear in loanwords that are typically treated as regular -en verbs or remain infinitive in certain registers.
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| ✈️ Ich flog nach Spanien und lernte dort Spanisch. | I flew to Spain and studied Spanish there. |
| 🏨 Du sagtest deinem Gastgeber, wann du angekommen bist. | You told your host when you arrived. |
| 📍 Er zeigte mir die Altstadt und ihre schönen Plätze. | He showed me the old town and its beautiful squares. |
| 🗺️ Wir reisten durch Andalusien und hörten viel neues Vokabular. | We traveled through Andalusia and heard lots of new vocabulary. |
| 🌅 Ihr habt den Sonnenuntergang am Strand beschrieben. | You all described the sunset on the beach. |
| 🧳 Sie packten ihre Koffer nach einer Woche Sprachcamp. | They packed their bags after a week of language camp. |
-er Verbs
Regular -er verbs form the preterite by adding endings to the stem, and they follow the same pattern as other -en verbs. For example, lernen becomes ich lernte, du lerntest, etc.
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🥐 Ich aß Croissants und trank Kaffee beim ersten Sprachtreffen. | I ate croissants and drank coffee at the first language meetup. |
| 🗣️ Du lerntest neue Redewendungen von den Einheimischen. | You learned new phrases from the locals. |
| 📚 Sie lasen abends Geschichten auf Spanisch. | They read stories in Spanish in the evening. |
| 📝 Wir schrieben Briefe an unsere Tandempartner. | We wrote letters to our language exchange partners. |
| 🎧 Ihr hörtet Podcasts während der Zugfahrt. | You all listened to podcasts during the train ride. |
| 🍎 Er aß einen Apfel und lernte dabei neue Wörter. | He ate an apple and learned new words. |
-ir Verbs
German does not have native -ir verbs; loanwords with -ieren endings follow a special pattern where they typically do not take an extra t in the preterite.
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🏃 Ich lief durch die Straßen und wiederholte Vokabeln. | I ran through the streets and repeated vocabulary. |
| 🛶 Du rudertest auf dem See und sangst spanische Lieder. | You rowed on the lake and sang Spanish songs. |
| 🔥 Sie zündeten ein Lagerfeuer an und erzählten sich Geschichten. | They lit a campfire and told each other stories. |
| ⛺ Wir bauten Zelte auf und lernten neue Grammatik. | We set up tents and learned new grammar. |
| 🌠 Ihr wünschtet euch beim Sternschnuppenfest mehr Sprachpraxis. | You all wished for more speaking practice at the shooting star festival. |
| 📬 Er schickte Postkarten mit kurzen Nachrichten auf Spanisch. | He sent postcards with short messages in Spanish. |
Stem-Changing Verbs
Stem-changing verbs in the preterite often alter their vowel in characteristic ways, and they sometimes belong to irregular groups that must be memorized for accurate narration. This section distinguishes between strong, weak, and mixed verbs and gives key examples.
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs deviate from regular endings and often change their stem in the preterite; they include high-frequency auxiliaries, modals, and common action verbs that are essential for telling what happened. Each subsection covers one cluster of irregulars with sample forms.
ir / ser (to go / to be)
Spanish highlights ir and ser because they share the preterite forms fui, fuiste, fue etc., but in German the equivalents belong to different verb categories. This section would compare such pairs if relevant.
hacer (to do, to make)
In German, machen is regular, but related verbs like tun can be irregular or colloquial; this section would show the preterite of common do/make verbs if needed.
tener (to have)
German haben is irregular in the preterite and serves as an auxiliary as well as a main verb; this section gives its forms and notes related verbs if relevant.
Signal Words
Signal words help identify when to use the preterite by anchoring an action in the past or indicating a completed sequence; common expressions appear in examples to show how they trigger the tense. This section lists typical markers like gestern, vor einem Jahr, and dann.
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| ✈️ Letzte Woche bin ich nach Madrid geflogen. | Last week I flew to Madrid. |
| 🌙 Gestern Abend habe ich mit Freunden auf Spanisch gesprochen. | Yesterday evening I spoke Spanish with friends. |
| 🗼 Vor zwei Tagen besichtigten wir den Torre de Oro. | Two days ago we visited the Tower of Gold. |
| 🎉 Neulich gab es ein Sprachfest in der Stadt. | Recently there was a language festival in the city. |
| 🚌 Heute Morgen sind wir mit dem Bus zu einem Sprachcamp gefahren. | This morning we went by bus to a language camp. |
Summary
The preterite tense narrates completed actions, regular verbs follow set endings, and irregular verbs must be learned by pattern or memory; signal words guide tense choice and practice makes these distinctions intuitive.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025