Past - Preterite (Junior Cert German): Revision Notes
Past - Preterite
Overview
The Präteritum is one of three past tenses in German and serves as the equivalent of the English simple past tense. This tense allows you to describe completed actions and events that happened in the past. Unlike the Perfekt tense, which is commonly used in spoken German, the Präteritum appears mainly in written German, formal contexts, and storytelling.
When you want to say "I was at the cinema" or "We talked all night," you're expressing past events that the Präteritum can handle beautifully. Think of it as your tool for narrating stories, writing formal texts, or describing past situations in a structured way.
The Präteritum is particularly important for reading German literature, newspapers, and academic texts, where it appears frequently. While you might not use it often in conversation, understanding it is essential for comprehending written German.
Rules and formation
Creating the Präteritum follows specific patterns depending on whether you're working with weak (regular) or strong (irregular) verbs. The good news is that once you understand these patterns, forming the past tense becomes much more predictable.
The Präteritum formation uses the second principal form of German verbs. Just like English has "go, went, gone," German verbs have three principal forms: the infinitive, the Präteritum form, and the past participle.
Weak verbs (regular verbs)
Weak verbs follow a consistent pattern by taking their stem and adding specific endings. To form the Präteritum of weak verbs, you remove the "-en" from the infinitive and add the appropriate ending.
Basic pattern: stem + ending
Exception Alert: Verbs whose stems end in -t, -d, -chn, -dn, -fn, -gn, or -tm require an extra "e" before the ending to make pronunciation easier. For example: arbeiten → arbeitete (not arbeitete).
Table of key forms
Weak verb endings
| Person | Ending | Example (lernen = to learn) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | stem + te | lernte |
| du | stem + test | lerntest |
| er/sie/es | stem + te | lernte |
| wir | stem + ten | lernten |
| ihr | stem + tet | lerntet |
| sie | stem + ten | lernten |
Weak verb endings (with extra "e")
| Person | Ending | Example (arbeiten = to work) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | stem + e + te | arbeitete |
| du | stem + e + test | arbeitetest |
| er/sie/es | stem + e + te | arbeitete |
| wir | stem + e + ten | arbeiteten |
| ihr | stem + e + tet | arbeitetet |
| sie | stem + e + ten | arbeiteten |
Strong/mixed verbs
Strong verbs don't follow the regular pattern and instead use their own Präteritum forms. You need to learn these individually, but they follow consistent ending patterns once you know the Präteritum stem.
| Infinitiv | Präteritum | ich | du | er/sie/es | wir | ihr | sie | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sein | war | war | warst | war | waren | wart | waren | was |
| haben | hatte | hatte | hattest | hatte | hatten | hattet | hatten | had |
| werden | wurde | wurde | wurdest | wurde | wurden | wurdet | wurden | became |
| gehen | ging | ging | gingst | ging | gingen | gingt | gingen | went |
| kommen | kam | kam | kamst | kam | kamen | kamt | kamen | came |
| nehmen | nahm | nahm | nahmst | nahm | nahmen | nahmt | nahmen | took |
Notice how the ich and er/sie/es forms are identical for strong verbs in the Präteritum. This pattern makes conjugation more predictable once you know the basic form.
Example sentences
Here are practical examples showing how the Präteritum works in context:
Worked Example: Using "sein" (to be)
Ich war heute im Kino. (I was at the cinema today.)
This sentence uses the strong verb "sein" in its Präteritum form "war" to describe a past state or location.
Worked Example: Using "haben" (to have)
Ich hatte einen guten Tag. (I had a good day.)
The verb "haben" becomes "hatte" in the Präteritum, expressing possession or experience in the past.
Worked Example: Weak verb conjugation
Wir redeten die ganze Nacht. (We talked the whole night.)
Here, the weak verb "reden" follows the regular pattern: stem "red" + ending "eten" = "redeten."
Worked Example: Simple weak verb
Sie lernte Deutsch. (She learnt German.)
The weak verb "lernen" becomes "lernte" for the third person singular, following the standard weak verb pattern.
Worked Example: Strong verb with vowel change
Er ging nach Hause. (He went home.)
The strong verb "gehen" uses its irregular Präteritum form "ging" to show completed movement in the past.
Common mistakes and tips
Understanding where students typically struggle can help you master the Präteritum more effectively. Here are the most frequent problem areas:
Mixing up verb types
Common Mistake: Many students confuse weak and strong verbs, applying weak verb endings to strong verbs or vice versa.
Solution: Remember that strong verbs have their own Präteritum forms that you must memorise, while weak verbs follow the predictable -te pattern.
Forgetting the extra "e"
Common Mistake: When working with verbs like "arbeiten" or "antworten," students often forget to add the extra "e" before the ending.
Solution: If the verb stem ends in -t, -d, or certain consonant clusters, always insert that extra "e" for proper pronunciation.
Using Präteritum in everyday speech
In conversational German, native speakers rarely use Präteritum except with certain verbs like "sein," "haben," and modal verbs. For most other verbs in speech, Germans prefer the Perfekt tense. Save the Präteritum for writing, formal situations, and storytelling.
Separable verbs
Special Rule: With separable verbs like "einkaufen" (to shop), remember to split the prefix and place it at the end of the sentence, then conjugate the main verb: "Ich kaufte gestern ein" (I shopped yesterday).
Modal verbs exception
Modal verbs and "haben," "sein," and "werden" commonly appear in Präteritum even in spoken German because their Präteritum forms sound more natural than their Perfekt equivalents.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- The Präteritum is primarily used in written German and formal contexts
- Weak verbs follow the pattern: stem + te/test/te/ten/tet/ten
- Strong verbs have irregular Präteritum forms that must be memorised
- Add an extra "e" before endings when verb stems end in -t, -d, or certain consonant clusters
- In everyday conversation, Germans usually prefer Perfekt over Präteritum for most verbs