Was hast du gegessen? What did you eat? Mastering German Strong Verbs in the Perfekt

In this post we’ll learn about German Strong Verbs in the Perfekt, also known as the conversational past. We’ll cover everything you need to know to form and use this tense. 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 Perfekt of strong verbs. After that we’ll look at the difference between verbs that use haben (have) and sein (be) in the conversational past. Next we’ll look at the most common and useful German strong verbs, divided into groups with similar forms so you can memorize them more easily. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a practice exercise. We’ll include plenty of examples 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.

Here’s a summary of the differences between the German Perfekt and 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 (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 more the Perfekt of weak verbs in this post.
• Learn about the Präteritum of weak verbs in this post.

Strong Verbs

Strong verbs, which we’ll focus on here, 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. German strong verbs have unpredictable vowel shifts, both in the past participle (gegessen eaten, gegangen gone, gesprochen spoken) and the Präteritum (aß ate, ging went, sprach spoke). This system looks very much like English strong verbs (take, took, taken; sing, sang sung; drive, drove, driven, and so on.)

• 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 Perfekt of Strong Verbs

Now let’s turn to how to form the German Perfekt of strong verbs. Use the present tense conjugation of the auxiliary verb haben (to have), or in a few cases sein (to be), along with the past participle. The past participles of strong verbs are irregular, and we’ll come back to their forms below.

Haben or Sein as Auxiliary

Most German verbs take haben as the auxiliary verb in the Perfekt. The only German verbs that use sein in the Perfekt are verbs that describe some kind of change of location or state, as well as many intransitive verbs – verbs that don’t take a direct object. Most of these verbs are strong, for example gehen (to go [on foot]), fahren (to go [by some conveyance]), kommen (to come), fliegen (to fly), einschlafen (to fall asleep), and so on.

• Ich habe ein gutes Buch gelesen.
  I read a good book.
  (Transitive verb, no movement, uses haben)
• Wir haben spät gegessen.
  We ate late.
  (No movement or change of state, uses haben)
• Er ist gestern angekommen.
  He arrived yesterday.
  (Movement, uses sein)
• Ich bin eingeschlafen.
  I fell asleep.
  (Change of state, uses sein)

Past Participles of Prefix Verbs

There are two minor wrinkles to keep in mind when it comes to the ge– prefix on past participles of prefix verbs. We’ll cover both cases here.

Separable Prefix Verbs

First are separable prefix verbs. These verbs take ge-, but it comes after the prefix and before the past participle of the verb root.

• Learn more about German Separable Prefix Verbs in this post.

Inseparable Prefix Verbs

Second are inseparable prefix verbs. These verbs do not take ge– at all in their past participles.

• Learn more about German Inseparable Prefix Verbs in this post.

Examples of German Strong Verbs in the Perfekt

Now let’s see some example sentences of strong verbs that use both haben and sein, including separable and inseparable prefix verbs. Notice that the past participle moves to the end of the clause, and nicht typically comes before the past participle, not the auxiliary.

For most verbs, you’ll use the Perfekt to express the past tense in conversation. The Präteritum or narrative past sounds stiff and formal in conversation, but you’ll encounter it in writing, storytelling, reports, and so on.

• Ich habe das Buch gelesen.
  I read the book.
• Bist du gestern früh aufgestanden?
  Did you get up early yesterday?
• Wir haben einen langen Film gesehen.
  We watched a long movie.
• Er ist sehr schnell gelaufen.
  He ran very fast.
• Sie hat den Schlüssel gefunden.
  She found the key.
• Warum hast du das vergessen?
  Why did you forget that?
• Wir sind nach Berlin gefahren.
  We drove/went to Berlin.
• Habt ihr das Spiel begonnen?
  Did you start the game?
• Er hat mich nie verstanden.
  He never understood me.
• Haben Sie mit dem Projekt begonnen?
  Have you gotten started on the project?

German Strong Verbs by Category

Now let’s see several common German strong verbs. We’ll include both past tenses – the narrative past or Präteritum, and the past participle, which you’ll use to form the Perfekt or conversational past. If a verb takes sein in the Perfekt, we’ll indicate that with (ist) before the past participle.

German strong verbs can be divided into several categories based on the vowel patterns in both forms. Since you need to memorize both, it’s best to memorize them together so you can see these patterns. There’s not much of a trick in memorizing these irregular forms. We recommend focusing on a category based on the vowel pattern, and then simply repeating the forms aloud as you read them (haben – hat – hatte – gehabt). If you write them out as you say them, you’re adding another “input,” which will help you remember them. Repetition is key; you’ll begin to form a connection between the infinitive and present forms and the irregular Präteritum and past participles. So don’t be shy about repeating the forms aloud again and again and again.

A > A Verbs

Let’s start with a small group that has a in both the Präteritum and the past participle.

A > E Verbs

Now let’s see a larger group that has a in the Präteritum and e in the past participle.

A > O Verbs

Next is a larger group that has a in the Präteritum and o in the past participle.

A > U Verbs

Now let’s see a group that has a in the Präteritum and u in the past participle.

I > I Verbs

Next is a group that has i in both the Präteritum and the past participle.

I > A Verbs

Now let’s see a group that has i in the Präteritum and a in the past participle.

IE > A Verbs

Next we’ll take a look at a group that has ie in the Präteritum and a in the past participle.

IE > IE Verbs

Now we’ll see several verbs that have ie in the Präteritum as well as in the past participle.

IE > AU/O/U Verbs

A few verbs have ie in the Präteritum but different vowels (au, o, or u) in the past participle.

U > A Verbs

Next we’ll see a group of verbs that have u in the Präteritum and a in the past participle.

O > O Verbs

Finally, let’s wrap up with a group of verbs that have o in both the Präteritum and the past participle.

Practice

Finally, let’s practice. Change each of the following present tense sentences into the Perfekt. Then translate. Answers are given below.

1. Ich fahre nach Berlin.
2. Er isst einen Apfel.
3. Wir gehen ins Kino.
4. Sie nimmt das Buch.
5. Ihr kommt spät zur Party.
6. Du trinkst eine Cola.
7. Sie schreiben viele E-Mails.
8. Ich laufe schnell nach Hause.
9. Er trägt eine schwere Tasche.
10. Wir lesen die Zeitung.
11. Du sprichst mit dem Lehrer.
12. Sie beginnt das Projekt.
13. Ich treffe meine Freunde.
14. Ihr helft den Eltern.
15. Er steigt in den Bus ein.
16. Sie schläft lange.
17. Du fliegst nach Spanien.
18. Wir bleiben im Hotel.
19. Ich finde meine Schlüssel.
20. Er ruft seinen Bruder an.

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Answer Key

1. Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren. — I went to Berlin.
2. Er hat einen Apfel gegessen. — He ate an apple.
3. Wir sind ins Kino gegangen. — We went to the cinema.
4. Sie hat das Buch genommen. — She took the book.
5. Ihr seid spät zur Party gekommen. — You (plural) came late to the party.
6. Du hast eine Cola getrunken. — You drank a cola.
7. Sie haben viele E-Mails geschrieben. — They wrote many emails.
8. Ich bin schnell nach Hause gelaufen. — I ran home quickly.
9. Er hat eine schwere Tasche getragen. — He carried a heavy bag.
10. Wir haben die Zeitung gelesen. — We read the newspaper.
11. Du hast mit dem Lehrer gesprochen. — You spoke with the teacher.
12. Sie hat das Projekt begonnen. — She began the project.
13. Ich habe meine Freunde getroffen. — I met my friends.
14. Ihr habt den Eltern geholfen. — You (plural) helped the parents.
15. Er ist in den Bus eingestiegen. — He got on the bus.
16. Sie hat lange geschlafen. — She slept a long time.
17. Du bist nach Spanien geflogen. — You flew to Spain.
18. Wir sind im Hotel geblieben. — We stayed at the hotel.
19. Ich habe meine Schlüssel gefunden. — I found my keys.
20. Er hat seinen Bruder angerufen. — He called his brother.

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