The Preterite in German (Präteritum)
The preterite is only used regularly in written German (For example: In novels or stories), although is it more common in northern Germany than in the south.
Use of the "Präteritum"
For an action in the past, there are basically 2 options in German, the "Präteritum" and the Perfekt. The "Präteritum" is used:
- With auxiliary verbs ( sein, haben, werden) and with modal verbs: (können, ...)
- In the written language, especially in newspapers and books
- It is more common in northern Germany.
Regular conjugation
It is formed in the following way for regular verbs:
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | leb-te | I lived |
| du | leb-te-st | you lived |
| er/sie/es | leb-te | he/she/it lived |
| wir | leb-te-n | we lived |
| ihr | leb-te-t | you lived |
| sie | leb-te-n | they lived |
Adding "–e-" between the stem and the ending
Just like with the present indicative, if the verb stem ends in:
- "-d", "-t" as is the case with "schaden" (to damage).
- Strong consonant + "-n" or "–m" as is the case with "eröffnen", "rechnen".
➜ An "–e-" is addd between the stem and the ending.
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | arbeit-e-te | I worked |
| du | arbeit-e-te-st | you worked |
| er/sie/es | arbeit-e-te | he/she/it worked |
| wir | arbeit-e-te-n | we worked |
| ihr | arbeit-e-te-t | you worked |
| sie | arbeit-e-te-n | they worked |
Examples:
Er lebte in Spanien
He lived in Spain
Sie malte das Bild
She painted the picture
Irregular conjugation
Many verbs are irregular and they do not follow the rule that was explained previously. As an example, we can look at the verb sehen (to see) where the "Präteritum" is conjugated like this:
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | sah | I saw |
| du | sah-st | you saw |
| er/sie/es | sah | he/she/it saw |
| wir | sah-en | we saw |
| ihr | sah-t | you saw |
| sie | sah-en | they saw |
Endings are the same for regular or irregular verbs, what changes is the stem when the Präteritum is formed.
This link shows the most important German irregular verbs and their corresponding "Präteritum".
The passive voice
The structure of the passive voice in the "Präteritum" consists of:
[wurden, (werden in the Präteritum)] + Partizip II
If the clause in the active voice is:
He read a book
Er las ein Buch
The equivalent clause in the passive voice would be:
A book was read by him
Ein Buch wurde von ihm gelesen
More information about the passive voice
Audiovisual Complement
For this lesson, we’ve chosen a precious Christmas song “Stille Nacht” (Christmas Eve), interpreted by the spectacular Greek artist Nana Mouscouri.