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Tense guide
Präteritum (Imperfect)

Language: German
Tense:
Person:

Practice conjugation drills

Introduction

This tense describes actions or states that happened and finished in the past. It is often called the "simple past" or the "narrative past" because it is most common in written stories.

The most important use for this tense is in written German. You will find it everywhere in books, fairy tales, and news reports. It is the main tense for telling a story or reporting on past events in writing.

Der Prinz rettete die Prinzessin.
(The prince rescued the princess.)
Sie öffnete die Tür und sah einen Brief auf dem Boden.
(She opened the door and saw a letter on the floor.)
Gestern regnete es den ganzen Tag.
(Yesterday it rained all day.)
Die Kinder spielten stundenlang im Park.
(The children played for hours in the park.)
Er las das Buch in einer Nacht.
(He read the book in one night.)

While this tense is mostly for writing, a few very common verbs use it in everyday conversation. This is especially true for the verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have).

Ich war gestern sehr müde.
(I was very tired yesterday.)
Wir hatten keine Zeit.
(We had no time.)
Das Wetter war letzte Woche schön.
(The weather was nice last week.)
Er hatte damals ein rotes Auto.
(He had a red car back then.)
Wo warst du?
(Where were you?)
Hattet ihr Spaß?
(Did you have fun?)

Other verbs that express ability, desire, or knowledge (like können, wollen, müssen, wissen, denken) also often use this tense when people are speaking.

Ich wollte dich etwas fragen.
(I wanted to ask you something.)
Er konnte nicht kommen.
(He couldn't come.)
Wir mussten schnell gehen.
(We had to leave quickly.)
Ich dachte, du bist schon da.
(I thought you were already here.)
Sie wusste die Antwort nicht.
(She didn't know the answer.)

This tense is often used in written stories to describe a background condition or a state. It tells the reader how things were, setting the scene for an action.

Die Sonne schien und die Vögel sangen.
(The sun was shining and the birds were singing.)
Das Haus stand allein auf einem Hügel.
(The house stood alone on a hill.)
Es war sehr still im Wald.
(It was very quiet in the forest.)

Remember, for most other verbs in everyday speaking, German speakers usually use a different past tense. This tense is mainly for writing and for the specific common verbs mentioned above.

Conjugation patterns