{"id":94243,"date":"2023-05-24T16:17:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T20:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-tenses\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T07:00:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:00:16","slug":"german-tenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-tenses\/","title":{"rendered":"German Tenses"},"content":{"rendered":"

For an English speaker, learning German tenses can feel like entering a parallel universe.<\/p>\n

But don’t fret! Remember, English is a Germanic language<\/a>. Despite their differences, these two languages are related on a deep and fundamental level.<\/p>\n

Luckily for you, that means you can use your knowledge of English grammar to learn German grammar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc skip=3]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Present Tense<\/h2>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Present Conjugation<\/strong><\/td>English Translation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ich spiele<\/strong><\/em><\/td>I play<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Du spielst<\/strong><\/em><\/td>You play<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Er\/sie\/es spielt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>He\/she\/it plays<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wir spielen<\/strong><\/em><\/td>We play<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ihr spielt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>You play (plural)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie spielen<\/strong><\/em><\/td>They\/you (formal) play<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The simple present tense in German<\/a> is much like the present tense in English. It’s constructed by adding on endings to the verb stem, and it refers to actions happening at the moment of speech.<\/p>\n

But you can’t just pretend it’s the English present.<\/p>\n

The biggest difference between the English simple present and the German simple present is that the German version covers the present progressive<\/em> aspect as well. This is one of those situations where one German tense does the work of two English tenses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In English, “I play guitar” and “I am playing guitar” are two different verb forms for different meanings. In German, the equivalent of the first can mean either of these things. Of course, if you add a time expression, the context makes it clear which is meant:<\/p>\n

Ich trinke<\/strong> gerade<\/strong> eine Tasse Tee<\/em>.
\nI’m drinking<\/strong> a cup of tea right now<\/strong>. \u2014 Present progressive<\/p>\n

Jeden Morgen<\/strong> trinke<\/strong> ich eine Tasse Tee.
\n<\/em>Every morning, I drink<\/strong> a cup of tea. \u2014 Present simple<\/p>\n

Note how these verbs are conjugated exactly the same, but they mean different things.<\/p>\n

So be sure not to try and translate the present progressive literally: “I am playing guitar” is never, “Ich bin Gitarre spielen”,\u00a0<\/em>but simply: Ich spiele Gitarre<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Irregular Uses for the German Present Tense<\/h3>\n

There are two more uses of the German present tense that are important to understand.<\/p>\n

First, in many instances the present tense can be used to refer to the future. <\/strong>This happens when you add a time expression such as a day of the week, which we often do in English too:<\/p>\n

Am Dienstag fahre<\/strong> ich nach Hause.
\n<\/em>I’m travelling<\/strong> home on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second, you can use the German present tense with the word seit \u00a0<\/em>(since), to talk about something that started in the past and is still going on. In this way, the German present tense can function like the English present perfect. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Ich kenne <\/b>sie seit Jahren.
\n<\/em>I’ve known<\/strong> her for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Notice how here, Ich kenne <\/em>(I know) is in the present tense, but it corresponds to the English “I’ve known,” which is the present perfect. We don’t have anything exactly like this in English, so this is one of those moments where you’ll have to immerse yourself in German until you get used to it.<\/p>\n

So, the German present tense covers many different English tenses. <\/strong>What happens when that gets reversed\u2014when just one English tense corresponds to several in German? Let’s have a look at the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Simple Past Tense<\/h2>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Past Simple Conjugation<\/strong><\/td>English Translation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ich spielte<\/strong><\/em><\/td>I played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Du spieltest<\/strong><\/em><\/td>You played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Er\/sie\/es spielte<\/strong><\/em><\/td>He\/she\/it played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wir spielten<\/strong><\/em><\/td>We played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ihr spieltet<\/strong><\/em><\/td>You (plural) played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie spielten<\/strong><\/em><\/td>They\/you (formal) played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

German has a simple past tense<\/a>, and English has a simple past tense. They both have similar usages: talking about events that started and ended in the past.<\/p>\n

Even their conjugations look similar.<\/strong> For example, regular English past tense verbs tend to be the infinitive form of the verb plus a “-d” or “-ed” ending. It’s similar in German, but the ending is usually -t <\/em>or -te. <\/em>For example:<\/p>\n

Er malt <\/em> (he paints) \u2192 Er malte<\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(he painted).<\/p>\n

There are also similarities when it comes to irregular verbs. <\/strong>English has a lot of verbs that change their vowels in the past tense. For example “run” becomes “ran.” Usually, when that happens in English, the cognate verb in German undergoes the same shift. “Run” fits that pattern:<\/p>\n

Er re<\/strong>nnt <\/em> (he runs) \u2192 Er ra<\/strong>nnte<\/em> <\/em>(he ran).<\/p>\n

When to Use the German Past Simple<\/h3>\n

The big twist is that the German simple past is mostly only used in written German. <\/strong>You’ll most often see it in newspapers or documents. It’s fallen out of favor in spoken German, even in formal situations. It’d sound very<\/em> weird to speak using the simple past all the time.<\/p>\n

There are a few exceptions to this, including some very common verbs that are<\/em> used in simple past in spoken German<\/strong>. For example, denken <\/em> (to think), haben<\/em> (to have), sein <\/em>(to be) and wollen <\/em> (to want) are frequently used in the simple past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ich dachte<\/strong>, du wohnst in M\u00fcnchen.
\n<\/em>I thought<\/strong> you lived in Munich.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ich hatte<\/strong> gestern eine Pr\u00fcfung.
\n<\/em>I had<\/strong> an exam yesterday.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich war<\/strong> im Wohnzimmer. <\/em>
\nI was<\/strong> in the living room.<\/p>\n

Ich wollte<\/strong> an den Strand gehen.
\n<\/em>I wanted<\/strong> to go to the beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Present Perfect Tense<\/h2>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Present Perfect Conjugation<\/strong><\/td>English Translation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ich habe ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>I played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Du hast ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>You played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Er\/sie\/es hat ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>He\/she\/it played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wir haben ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>We played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ihr habt ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>You (plural) played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie haben ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>They\/you (formal) played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, let’s turn to the past tense used most often in spoken German: the present perfect<\/a> or the compound past.<\/p>\n

In terms of construction, it’s like the English present perfect<\/strong>. It’s built by conjugating haben<\/em> (to have) in the present tense<\/a> as an auxiliary verb, and then adding the past participle of the actual verb. So, it looks similar to English constructions like “I have done” or “We have eaten.”<\/p>\n

But take careful note\u2014it doesn’t have the same meaning. The structure is the same as English, but the meaning can either be like the English simple past<\/strong> (I sang) or present perfect\u00a0<\/strong>(I have sung), depending on the context.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wir haben<\/strong>\u00a0Fu\u00dfball gespielt<\/strong>.\u00a0
\n<\/em>We watched<\/strong> a movie.\u00a0
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

As you can see, the verb is made up of the auxiliary verb haben <\/em>(have) and the past participle gespielt <\/em>(played). But its meaning is closer to “they played,” rather than “they have played.”<\/p>\n

One last note of complexity: when we’re dealing with the simple past, sometimes the auxiliary verb isn’t haben<\/em> but <\/strong>sein.<\/strong> <\/em>Verbs relating to motion or a change of state use sein.<\/em> For example:<\/p>\n

Ich bin<\/strong> in den Supermarkt gegangen<\/strong>.
\n<\/em>I went<\/strong> to the grocery store.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As you can see, we conjugated sein<\/em> to ich bin<\/em> and then stuck the participle on the end of the sentence. As a reference, here is how you conjugate both haben<\/em> (to have) and sein<\/em> (to be):<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Haben<\/em> Conjugation<\/strong><\/td>English Translation<\/strong><\/td><\/td>Sein<\/em> Conjugation<\/strong><\/td>English Translation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ich habe <\/a>\n <\/td>I have<\/td><\/td> ich bin <\/a>\n <\/td>I am<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du hast <\/a>\n <\/td>You have <\/td><\/td> du bist <\/a>\n <\/td>You are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es hat <\/a>\n <\/td>He\/she\/it has<\/td><\/td> er\/sie\/es ist <\/a>\n <\/td>He\/she\/it is<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wir haben <\/a>\n <\/td>We have<\/td><\/td> wir sind <\/a>\n <\/td>We are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr habt <\/a>\n <\/td>You (plural) are<\/td><\/td> ihr seit <\/a>\n <\/td>You (plural) are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie\/sie haben <\/a>\n <\/td>They\/you (formal) are<\/td><\/td> Sie\/sie sind <\/a>\n <\/td>They\/you (formal) are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Irregular Past Simple Verbs and Past Participles<\/h3>\n

When it comes to the past perfect, half the battle is learning the correct past participles. Whenever you see a word with ge<\/em>\u2014en<\/em> or ge\u2014t<\/em> at the end of a sentence, you know it’s a past participle.<\/p>\n

Both past simple verbs and past participles<\/a> are sometimes irregular<\/strong>. That’s why most German dictionaries and textbooks give a verb’s infinitive, its simple past form and its part participle whenever introducing a new word.<\/p>\n

It’s best to memorize all three at the same time. Here are a few common irregular ones:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
English Translation<\/strong><\/td>Infinitive<\/strong><\/td>Past Simple<\/strong><\/td>Past Participle<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to be<\/td>sein<\/em><\/td>war<\/em><\/td>gewesen<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to have<\/td>haben<\/em><\/td>hatte<\/em><\/td>gehabt<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to speak<\/td>sprechen<\/em><\/td>sprach<\/em><\/td>gesprochen<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to go<\/td>gehen<\/em><\/td>ging<\/em><\/td>gegangen<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to sit<\/td>sitzen<\/em><\/td>sa\u00df<\/em><\/td>gesessen<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to do<\/td>tun<\/em><\/td>tat<\/em><\/td>getan<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to eat<\/td>essen<\/em><\/td>a\u00df<\/em><\/td>gegessen<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
to drink<\/td>trinken<\/em><\/td>trank<\/em><\/td>getrunken<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since this tense is a bit different from English, it can be tricky for English speakers to learn. If you need some reinforcement, you can check out these self-tests<\/a>\u2014or, for slightly more intense training, this timed quiz<\/a> from Sporcle.<\/p>\n

The Past Perfect Tense<\/h2>\n

\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Past Perfect Conjugation<\/strong><\/td>English Translation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ich hatte ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>I had played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Du hattest ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>You had played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Er\/sie\/es hatte ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em> <\/td>He\/she\/it had played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wir hatten ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>We had played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ihr hattet ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em> <\/td>You (plural) had played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie hatten ge<\/strong>spielt<\/em><\/td>They\/you (formal) had played<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tenses discussed previously in this article were the most complex and the most divergent from English. From here on out, it’s easy street, as the tenses line up very well.<\/p>\n

Let’s consider the past perfect<\/a>, first in English. In English, we would say,\u00a0“I had finished my homework before she called” or\u00a0“They had already eaten when we arrived.” We say “had finished” or “had eaten” to show that the first action happened before the second action.<\/p>\n

“Had” for us is in the past tense, and so we’ll do the same thing in German. Appropriately conjugate haben<\/em> in the past tense and add the past participle<\/strong>. It’s very easy to pick up! Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

Ich hatte<\/strong> den Film schon gesehen<\/strong>.
\n<\/em>I had<\/strong> already seen<\/strong> the film.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And don’t forget, you need to use\u00a0sein\u00a0<\/em>for verbs describing movement or a change of state. Here, you just do the same, you put the auxiliary verb\u00a0sein\u00a0<\/em>into the simple past:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Als ich ankam, war<\/strong> sie bereits gegangen. <\/strong>
\n<\/em>When I arrived, she had<\/strong> already gone<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When to Use the German Past Perfect<\/h3>\n

This tense isn’t used very much, but it does crop up fairly frequently in interviews. If you want to study it, go ahead and read some German newspapers or magazines<\/a> where they interview famous people about their lives. You’ll see this tense left and right!<\/p>\n

If you still aren\u2019t sure about this tense, you can watch how native speakers use it in various video examples with FluentU.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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