In English, verbs take no endings except for the third person singular in the present tense, but German has more endings for verbs in the past tense than English. The simple past is mostly used in written German. In grammar books the past tense is often called as preterite (Präteritum) or the imperfect (Imperfekt).
Verb formation in the past tense
In German, verbs in the simple past tense are formed either regularly or irregularly (similar pattern in English).
- Regular verbs add the required endings to the stem
- Irregular verbs change their stem vowel
Verb formation in the past tense – regular verbs
Regular verbs add the required endings to the stem. The stem is the form of the infinitive without -en or -n.
| Person |
stem + Ending |
| ich (“I”) |
–te |
| du (“you”, informal use) |
–test |
| Sie (“you”, formal use) |
–ten |
| er/sie/es (“he/she/it) |
–te |
| wir (“we”) |
–ten |
| ihr (“you”, informal use) |
–tet |
| Sie (“you”, formal use) |
–ten |
| sie (“they”) |
–ten |
Verbs where the stem ends in -t, -n or -d have an extra “e”:
| Person |
stem + Ending |
| ich (“I”) |
–ete |
| du (“you”, informal use) |
–etest |
| Sie (“you”, formal use) |
–eten |
| er/sie/es (“he/she/it) |
–ete |
| wir (“we”) |
–eten |
| ihr (“you”, informal use) |
–etet |
| Sie (“you”, formal use) |
–eten |
| sie (“they”) |
–eten |
Examples:
English: to play
German: spielen
Stem: spiel
Form: wir (“we”): wir spiel
ten
English: to answer
German: antworten
Stem: antwort
Form: wir (“we”): wir antworteten
FURTHER INFORMATION
