A2
💡Not sure what Nominativ or Akkusativ means?Word Functions →Simple Past (Praeteritum)
Explicação
The Präteritum (Simple Past)
Präteritum is the written past tense used in literature, news, and narratives. In everyday speech, Germans prefer the Perfekt — except for sein, haben, and modal verbs, which use Präteritum even in conversation.
Regular verbs: stem + t + ending
| Person | machen | wohnen |
|---|---|---|
| ich | machte | wohnte |
| du | machtest | wohntest |
| er/sie/es | machte | wohnte |
| wir/sie/Sie | machten | wohnten |
Irregular verbs (stem change)
| Infinitive | Präteritum (ich) |
|---|---|
| sein | war (was) |
| haben | hatte (had) |
| gehen | ging (went) |
| kommen | kam (came) |
| sehen | sah (saw) |
Modal verbs in Präteritum
| Modal | Präteritum |
|---|---|
| müssen | musste |
| können | konnte |
| wollen | wollte |
| dürfen | durfte |
| sollen | sollte |
⚠️ In speech, always use Perfekt for content verbs. Präteritum in speech sounds formal/literary. Exception: Ich war, Ich hatte, Ich musste — these are normal in spoken German.
Exemplos
Ich war gestern krank.
I was sick yesterday.
Wir mussten früh gehen.
We had to leave early.
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