PAST TENSES OF VERBS

OVERVIEW

Note that there are 3 tenses for expressing past time: the SIMPLE PAST, the PRESENT PERFECT, and the PAST PERFECT tenses:

IMPERFECT or

SIMPLE PAST

(IMPERFEKT)*

sie lernte

she learned

[she was learning]

[she did learn]

* sometimes called "Preterite" (Präteritum)

sie ging

she went

[she was going]

[she did go]

PRESENT PERFECT

(PERFEKT)

sie hat gelernt

sie ist gegangen

she has learned

she has gone

PAST PERFECT

(PLUSQUAMPERFEKT)

sie hatte gelernt

sie war gegangen

she had learned

she had gone

I. USAGE: SIMPLE PAST AND PRESENT PERFECT TENSES

In German, the SIMPLE PAST and PRESENT PERFECT tenses can be used fairly interchangeably, although the PRESENT PERFECT tense is the more common form in everyday spoken language.

Except for the more frequently used verbs like "haben", "sein", "werden", and the modal verbs,

the SIMPLE PAST is used more for narration, especially in written form.

For example, a German speaker who wants to express that he went to the movies last night would use the PRESENT PERFECT tense and say:

"Ich bin gestern abend ins Kino gegangen."

(instead of "Ich ging gestern abend ins Kino.", although this would not be incorrect.)

Note that in English these two tenses are not interchangeable.

For example, an English speaker, wanting to express the same thing, must use the SIMPLE PAST

tense and say:

"I went to the movies last night."

(It would be incorrect to say "I have gone to the movies last night.")

This is why it is often better to translate German sentences in the PRESENT PERFECT tense into English sentences in the SIMPLE PAST:

"Sie haben gestern schwer gearbeitet." = "They worked hard yesterday."

II. USAGE: PAST PERFECT TENSE

In German and in English, the PAST PERFECT tense is used identically, to express events that happened in the past of the past time being expressed.

"Er hatte gerade zu arbeiten angefangen, als die Gäste ankamen."

"He had just begun to work, when the guests arrived."

"Wir hatten ihn jahrelang gekannt, bevor er berühmt wurde."

"We had known him for years before he became famous."