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Präteritum: sein und haben

Past tense: sein & haben

Talk about things that already happened: I was, I had.

What is the Präteritum?

  • The Präteritum (past tense) is used to talk about things that have already happened.
  • Examples: I was happy. You were at work. He was sick.
  • sein and haben are among the most commonly used verbs, and both are irregular: the verb stem changes.

sein · to be (past)

  • ich war
  • du warst
  • er / es / sie war
  • wir waren
  • ihr wart
  • sie waren
  • Sie waren

haben · to have (past)

  • ich hatte
  • du hattest
  • er / es / sie hatte
  • wir hatten
  • ihr hattet
  • sie hatten
  • Sie hatten

Examples

  • Ich war jungI was young
  • Du warst jungYou were young
  • Wir waren jungWe were young
  • Ihr wart jungYou all were young
  • Ich hatte kein GeldI had no money
  • Du hattest kein GeldYou had no money
  • Wir hatten kein GeldWe had no money
  • Ihr hattet kein GeldYou all had no money

Common questions and answers with “war”

  • Waren Sie schon mal in Berlin?Have you ever been to Berlin?
  • Ja, da war ich schonYes, I was there already
  • Warst du schon mal in Rom?Have you ever been to Rome?
  • Nein, da war ich nichtNo, I was not there
  • Wo warst du gestern?Where were you yesterday?
  • Wo warst du am Wochenende?Where were you on the weekend?
  • Ich war in HamburgI was in Hamburg