Perfect and Simple Past: How to Use Past Tenses

In German, there are two tenses to talk about the past: the perfect tense (Perfekt) and the simple past tense (Präteritum). Both have the same meaning when you talk about past events. For example, "Gestern hatte meine beste Freundin Geburtstag" (simple past) and "Gestern hat meine beste Freundin Geburtstag gehabt" (perfect) mean the same thing.

How to Form the Perfect and Simple Past Tenses

The simple past tense (Präteritum) uses one verb. These are single words that change:

• ich sagte
• er kam
• wir spielten
• sie schrieben
• ihr kochtet

The perfect tense (Perfekt) uses two words: an auxiliary verb and the past participle (Partizip II). The auxiliary verb is usually haben.

• ich habe gesagt
• er ist gekommen
• wir haben gespielt
• sie haben geschrieben
• ihr habt gekocht

You use the auxiliary verb sein when there is movement (e.g., fahren, gehen, schwimmen, rennen) or a change of state (e.g., einschlafen, aufwachen). You also use sein as the auxiliary verb with the verbs sein, bleiben, and werden.

Differences in Usage

Whether you use the perfect tense or the simple past tense often depends on whether you are speaking or writing, and in which region of Germany you are.

In Written Texts

You will usually find the simple past tense (Präteritum) in written texts. This is because the simple past is shorter and saves space in the text. This is the case in novels, newspaper articles, and reports, for example.

However, if you are writing a letter or an email that is similar to spoken language, you will find the perfect tense there more often.

In Spoken Language

In spoken language, the perfect tense is more common. It is often used, especially in southern Germany. For example, one would say:

• "Gestern bin ich zu einem Dönerladen gegangen und habe einen Döner bestellt."

In northern Germany, you can also hear the simple past tense (Präteritum) in spoken language. However, for some German speakers, the simple past in spoken communication sounds very formal and unusual.

Special Cases: Verbs Always in the Simple Past

There are some verbs that are almost always in the simple past tense (Präteritum) in spoken language, no matter where you are from. These are the verbs haben, sein, and geben, as well as all modal verbs.

Modal verbs are verbs like:

• können (ich konnte)
• müssen (ich musste)
• sollen (ich sollte)
• wollen (ich wollte)
• dürfen (ich durfte)
• mögen (ich mochte)

The verb "werden" (in the sense of "I grew old") is also an example. When you say: "Es war lecker" (It was tasty), you are using the simple past of "sein".

Important Rules for the Perfect Tense

There are two situations where you must use the perfect tense:

1. When a past event has an effect on the present.

• "Ich habe zu wenig geschlafen!" (This means, I am tired now.)
• "Mama hat Spätzle gemacht." (This means, there is food now.)
• "Der Straße ist nass. Es hat geregnet." (This means, the rain has left traces that you can see now.)

In these cases, you cannot use the simple past tense, because otherwise it would sound as if the event no longer has any current relevance.

1. You can also use the perfect tense to talk about the future when you want to express that something will be completed by a certain point in the future. This is an alternative to the future perfect tense (Futur II).

• "Wenn ich mein Studium beendet habe, suche ich mir eine Arbeit." (The studies will be finished in the future.)
• "Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben bis morgen Abend gemacht." (The homework will be done by tomorrow evening.)

In summary, the perfect tense is more versatile and can be used for past events with a connection to the present, as well as for the future. The simple past tense is mainly limited to the past.