Grammar · B1 · Präteritum
Präteritum: sein, haben, modals
For sein, haben, and modals, spoken past is usually Präteritum: ich war, ich hatte, ich konnte. Other verbs stay in Perfekt.
Bridges
EN simple past (was/had/could)
PT pretérito simples (era/foi)
ES pretérito imperfecto / indefinido
FR imparfait / passé simple (écrit)
Forms: High-frequency forms
/ /
I/you/he was
PT eu era / estive · ES yo era / estuve · FR j'étais / fus
/
I/you had
PT eu tinha · ES yo tenía · FR j'avais
/ /
I could / had to / wanted
PT pude / tive que / queria · ES pude / tuve que / quería · FR pouvais / devais / voulais
/ /
we were / had / could
/ /
you (formal) were / had / had to
Forms: Spoken vs written
/ /
default spoken past for these verbs
→
Ich habe gearbeitet (not arbeitete)
+
Ich musste warten / Ich konnte nicht kommen
…
there was / were
very common narrative
Examples
.
Yesterday I was sick.
.
I couldn't come.
.
We had no time.
.
I was at the Bürgeramt.
.
She had to wait a long time.
8, .
We wanted the U8, but there was a delay.
?
Have you been to Neukölln before?
warst = spoken past
Common mistakes
- Using Perfekt for war/hatte/konnte when Präteritum is the spoken default.
- Saying *gekonnt* as a finite verb in speech (*Ich habe gekonnt* is rare).
- Mixing war (sein) with hatte (haben).
- Writing *Ich bin gewesen* when *Ich war* is what people say.
When you use it in Berlin
Stories and excuses: Ich war im Amt. Ich konnte nicht früher. Wir hatten Verspätung.
Quick check
1/3
Präteritum of sein:
___ .