Was sagtest du? What did you say? Mastering the German Präteritum of Weak Verbs

In this post we’ll learn how to form the German Präteritum of weak verbs. The Präteritum– also known as the simple past or narrative past – is one of the past tenses you will come across in German. We’ll cover everything you need to know in order to form and use it. First, we’ll start by defining the differences between the two German past tenses, the Perfekt and the Präteritum. Then we’ll explain the three different kinds of verbs in German – weak, strong, and mixed. Next, we’ll explain how to form and use the German Präteritum of weak verbs. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a practice exercise. We’ll include plenty of examples of the narrative past throughout.

German Perfekt vs. Präteritum: What’s the Difference?

First, let’s start by defining the two different past tenses that you use in German. Those are the Perfekt, also known as the Conversational Past, and the Präteritum, also known as the Simple Past or Narrative Past. These tenses differ both in form and in use. The Perfekt is a compound tense, meaning it uses an auxiliary verb and a past participle. This is exactly like the English present perfect (has gone, have seen, etc.). The Präteritum is a simple tense, using just one word, like the English simple past (went, saw, etc.)

The difference in usage is not like in English, though. The Perfekt is typically a spoken tense, used in everyday speech or informal writing. The Präteritum is usually a more formal tense, used in written stories, news, and formal writing. But a few common verbs – haben (to have), sein (to be), werden (to become), modals like können (can) or wollen (want), and just a few other verbs – are typically used in the Präteritum even in spoken or informal language. Those are all strong verbs, so we’ll only touch on them here.

Here’s a summary of the differences between the German Perfekt and Präteritum.

When you speak German and want to talk about the past, you’re most likely going to use the Perfekt, except for those few strong verbs mentioned above. But if you read the news, novels, or fairy tales, or do any kind of more formal writing, you’ll see or use the Präteritum.

Weak, Strong, and Mixed German Verbs

Now let’s turn to an important distinction when forming the German past tense.  German verbs are divided into three categories: weak, strong, and mixed. It’s important to know which category a verb belongs to, because that will determine how to form its simple past work (for the Präteritum) and its past participle (for the Perfekt.)

Weak Verbs

Weak verbs are regular verbs that take a simple ending in the past and past participle. An example is arbeiten (to work), gearbeitet (worked), arbeitete (worked). This is exactly like the regular/weak English verb work, which takes a regular –ed ending in both the past participle (has worked) and simple past (worked).

• Learn about the Perfekt/Conversational Past of Weak Verbs in this post.

Strong Verbs

Strong verbs are irregular verbs that have a vowel shift and do not take the regular –t– in the past tense. An example is essen (to eat), gegessen (eaten), aß (ate). This is exactly like the English verb eat, which has a vowel change in the past, and which doesn’t take the regular –ed ending.

• Learn about the Perfekt/Conversational Past of Strong Verbs in this post.
• Learn about the Präteritum/Narrative Past of Strong Verbs in this post.

Mixed Verbs

The last category of German verbs is mixed verbs. These verbs take the regular ending -t, like weak verbs, but they also have a vowel shift, like strong verbs. An example is denken (to think), gedacht (thought), dachte (thought). English verbs like think are similar to German mixed verbs. They have a vowel shift (think > thought) but also take the past ending –t. There aren’t many mixed verbs in either language, but since a few common verbs are mixed, you should learn them.

How to Form the German Präteritum of Weak Verbs

Now let’s move on to how to form the German Narrative Past of Weak Verbs. The key is to insert –t– after the verb stem, followed by the Präteritum endings.

If the verb stem ends in –t, –d, or a consonant cluster, insert an –e– before the –t + ending to make the ending pronounceable.

Using the German Präteritum of Weak Verbs

If you use the Präteritum instead of the Perfekt in conversation, it will probably sound stiff and strangely formal. So you probably wouldn’t say:

• *Ich arbeitete gestern.
  I worked yesterday.
• *Ich machte meine Hausaufgaben.
  I did my homework.

And instead you’d use the conversational past, or Perfekt:

• Ich habe gestern gearbeitet.
  I worked yesterday.
• Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben gemacht.
  I did my homework.

However, there are a few verbs that typically use the Präteritum, even in natural speech. We’ll come back to them in a moment.

Formal, Academic, Articles, Texts, Biographies, Reports

If you write or read formal or academic reports, or when you read books, articles, stories, history texts, biographies, and so on, you’ll see this tense used instead of the Perfekt. That’s why the tense is also known as the narrative past. Here are a few examples of the sort of contexts where you’re likely to come across the Präteritum or narrative past.

• Er lernte in Berlin Medizin und arbeitete später als Arzt in Hamburg.
  He studied medicine in Berlin and later worked as a doctor in Hamburg.
• Das Mädchen öffnete die Tür vorsichtig und entdeckte ein geheimnisvolles Zimmer.
  The girl carefully opened the door and discovered a mysterious room.
• Die Polizei suchte den ganzen Abend nach dem vermissten Jungen.
  The police searched all evening for the missing boy.
• Das Unternehmen investierte im letzten Jahr verstärkt in neue Technologien.
  The company increased its investment in new technologies last year.
• Die Studie zeigte, dass Kinder mit ausreichend Schlaf besser lernten.
  The study showed that children with enough sleep learned better.
• Während meines Praktikums unterstützte ich das Marketing-Team bei der Kampagnenplanung.
  During my internship, I supported the marketing team in campaign planning.
• Wir besuchten viele Städte in Italien und probierten überall das lokale Essen.
  We visited many cities in Italy and tried the local food everywhere.
• Im Jahr 1989 öffnete die DDR die Grenzen und veränderte damit die Geschichte Europas.
  In 1989, East Germany opened the borders and changed the course of European history.

German Präteritum of Strong Verbs Used in Conversation

There are a few verbs that sound perfectly natural in the Präteritum in everyday speech. These are sein (to be), haben (to have), modals, and verbs of position. These are all strong verbs, so they’re a bit off topic here, but we’ll give just a few examples.

• Das Wetter war gestern richtig schön, oder?
  The weather was really nice yesterday, right?
• Ich hatte keine Zeit, ins Fitnessstudio zu gehen.
  I didn’t have time to go to the gym.
• Wir konnten den Film nicht schauen.
  We couldn’t watch the movie.
• Ich wollte eigentlich früher kommen, aber der Bus hatte Verspätung.
  I actually wanted to come earlier, but the bus was late.
• Ich musste gestern Überstunden machen.
  I had to work overtime yesterday.
• Er stand die ganze Zeit an der Bar.
  He stood at the bar the whole time.
• Das Handy lag den ganzen Tag auf dem Tisch.
  The phone was lying on the table all day.

Practice A

Change the infinitives in the following newspaper article to the Präteritum. Then translate the entire text. Answers are below.

Die Polizei [1. SUCHEN] gestern nach einem vermissten Hund im Stadtpark. Zeugen [2. MELDEN], dass das Tier gegen Mittag *verschwand. Einsatzkräfte [DURCHKÄMMEN] das Gelände und [3. VERTEILEN] Flugblätter. Am Abend [4. ENTDECKEN] ein Passant den Hund in einem Gebüsch. Die Besitzer [5. BEDANKEN] sich bei allen Helfern für die Unterstützung.

*Note that verschwand is a strong verb, the Präteritum of verschwinden.

Practice B

Let’s do the same thing using the narrative past in a text from a business context.

Das Unternehmen [1. ERÖFFNEN] am Montag eine neue Filiale in München. Die Geschäftsführer [2. BEGRÜßEN] zahlreiche Gäste und [3. PRÄSENTIEREN] ihre Pläne für die Zukunft. Mitarbeiter [4. ERKLÄREN] das neue Konzept und [5. VERTEILEN] Werbematerial. Die Veranstaltung [6. DAUERN] drei Stunden. Viele Besucher [7. LOBEN] das freundliche Personal und die moderne Ausstattung des Geschäfts.

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Answer Key

A

Die Polizei suchte gestern nach einem vermissten Hund im Stadtpark. Zeugen meldeten, dass das Tier gegen Mittag verschwand. Einsatzkräfte durchkämmten das Gelände und verteilten Flugblätter. Am Abend entdeckte ein Passant den Hund in einem Gebüsch. Die Besitzer bedankten sich bei allen Helfern für die Unterstützung.

The police searched yesterday for a missing dog in the city park. Witnesses reported that the animal disappeared around noon. Emergency personnel combed the area and handed out flyers. In the evening, a passerby discovered the dog in a bush. The owners thanked all the helpers for their support.

B

Das Unternehmen eröffnete am Montag eine neue Filiale in München. Die Geschäftsführer begrüßten zahlreiche Gäste und präsentierten ihre Pläne für die Zukunft. Mitarbeiter erklärten das neue Konzept und verteilten Werbematerial. Die Veranstaltung dauerte drei Stunden. Viele Besucher lobten das freundliche Personal und die moderne Ausstattung des Geschäfts.

The company opened a new branch in Munich on Monday. The managers welcomed numerous guests and presented their plans for the future. Employees explained the new concept and handed out promotional material. The event lasted three hours. Many visitors praised the friendly staff and the modern design of the store.

Photo by Ingo Joseph: https://www.pexels.com/photo/newspaper-front-page-21627/