Welcome back! In our last session, you mastered the Perfekt tense, which is essential for talking about completed actions in spoken German. You learned the general rule: Perfekt is for speaking, and the other past tense, Präteritum, is mostly for writing.
Today, we're going to dive into a very important exception to that rule. For two of the most common verbs in the language, sein (to be) and haben (to have), German speakers almost always use the Präteritum form even in everyday conversation. This lesson will focus on teaching you how to describe past states and possessions using these simple past forms. By the end, you'll be able to say things like "I was at the clinic" or "I had a new game" in the most natural way, making your spoken German sound even more authentic.
An Exception to the Rule
In the last lesson, we established that you'd use the Perfekt tense for conversation. So, technically, you could say:
- Ich bin gestern im Kino gewesen. (I was at the cinema yesterday.)
- Ich habe gestern keine Zeit gehabt. (I had no time yesterday.)
While grammatically correct, these sentences sound a bit clumsy and overly formal to a native speaker. The Perfekt forms of sein and haben are long, and German speakers prefer a shortcut. That shortcut is the Präteritum (simple past).
Let's read a quick explanation of why this is the case.
Präteritum (Simple Past) with haben and sein in German
This article from the "German with Herr Antrim" blog gets straight to the point, explaining why you'll want to use the Präteritum for these two verbs.
Read the introduction, starting from this paragraph, to understand the logic behind this common exception.
The takeaway is simple: for past states (being) and possessions (having), use the simple past forms. It's easier, faster, and it's what native speakers do.
The Conjugations: war and hatte
Now, let's learn these essential forms. The Präteritum of sein is war, and the Präteritum of haben is hatte. You just need to learn their conjugations, which are much simpler than forming the Perfekt.
The following video provides a clear and concise breakdown of how to conjugate and use these verbs in the simple past.
HABEN und SEIN im PRÄTERITUM | to have & to be in German simple past
This video from "YourGermanTeacher" will walk you through the conjugations and usage of 'haben' and 'sein' in the Präteritum.
Please watch the following sections: 'haben' -> 'hatte': Pay attention to the conjugation table from this segment. 'sein' -> 'war': Now watch the conjugation for 'sein' from this part. Usage examples: The next section, from here, explains how these forms are used to talk about places, feelings, and professions. A key thing to notice is that for both verbs, the conjugation for ich (I) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) is identical! This is a standard feature of the Präteritum tense for irregular verbs.
Here are the conjugation tables for your reference:
haben (to have) → hatte (had)
| Pronoun | Präteritum | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hatte | Ich hatte gestern Kopfschmerzen. (I had a headache yesterday.) |
| du | hattest | Hattest du eine gute Zeit? (Did you have a good time?) |
| er/sie/es | hatte | Er hatte einen neuen Controller. (He had a new controller.) |
| wir | hatten | Wir hatten eine Prüfung. (We had an exam.) |
| ihr | hattet | Ihr hattet Glück! (You guys were lucky!) |
| sie/Sie | hatten | Sie hatten viele Fragen. (They had many questions.) |
sein (to be) → war (was/were)
| Pronoun | Präteritum | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ich | war | Ich war müde. (I was tired.) |
| du | warst | Wo warst du? (Where were you?) |
| er/sie/es | war | Das Spiel war super. (The game was great.) |
| wir | waren | Wir waren im Urlaub. (We were on vacation.) |
| ihr | wart | Ihr wart sehr schnell. (You all were very fast.) |
| sie/Sie | waren | Sie waren nicht da. (They were not there.) |
Seeing the Difference: Heute vs. Gestern
To solidify your understanding, let's watch one more short video that excels at showing direct comparisons between the present tense and the Präteritum.
Präteritum | Learn German | Deutsch lernen
This video from "Benjamin - Der Deutschlehrer" provides excellent, simple examples that contrast the present with the past.
Watch the series of examples from this section. Notice how each example starts with a "heute" (today) sentence in the present tense and is followed by a "gestern" (yesterday) or "früher" (in the past) sentence using war or hatte.
Time to Practice
Now it's your turn to use these new forms. Let's start with a dialogue completion.
Look at the image above. Focus on the first exercise, "Schreib sein oder haben im Präteritum in der richtigen Person." Try to fill in the blanks in the dialogue between the two speakers. I've written out the dialogue below for clarity. Don't worry about getting it perfect; just give it your best shot.
- Hallo Max, wo (1) _____ du gestern? Wir (2) _____ doch eine Verabredung.
- Tut mir leid, ich (3) _____ bei meinen Eltern. Meine Mutter (4) _____ Geburtstag, und die ganze Familie (5) _____ da. Plötzlich (6) _____ meine Großmutter die Idee, an den Strand zu fahren. Es (7) _____ ja auch ein schöner Tag. Aber wir (8) _____ nur drei Autos für alle, in meinem Auto (9) _____ fünf Leute. Plötzlich (10) _____ mein Auto kaputt. Niemand (11) _____ in der Nähe. Erst nach einer Stunde (12) _____ wir Glück, ein Taxifahrer (13) _____ auf dem Weg in die Stadt und (14) _____ Platz für uns alle. Ich (15) _____ erst um 1 Uhr nachts zu Hause.
- Das (16) _____ ja ein toller Ausflug. Na, dann bis morgen.
(You can check your answers at the very end of the lesson.)
Further Practice
For some more targeted practice, here are a few sentences to complete from a more comprehensive grammar worksheet.
This German grammar PDF contains extensive exercises on the Präteritum. We'll use a few specific questions to sharpen your skills.
First, try to solve these fill-in-the-blank questions from "Übung 1" on page 2 of the PDF: 58. Er ............ nicht sehr freundlich. (sein) Ich .................. überhaupt keine Angst in diesem Moment. (haben) Wir ..................... letzte Woche Ferien. (haben) Next, try converting this sentence from the present tense to the Präteritum, found in "Übung 2" on page 7: 49. Der Chef hat nie viel Zeit. → Der Chef __________________________. Finally, in "Übung 3" on page 11, you'll see sentences converted to both Perfekt and Präteritum. This is a great way to review. Look at question 21: Präsens: Wo ist er? Perfekt: Wo ist er gewesen? Präteritum: Wo _____ er? After you've tried these, you can find the complete answer key in the same document. The solutions start on page 1 of the second half of the document (labeled "Übungen zum Präteritum (Imperfekt) -1-").
Creative Application
Let's go back to the image worksheet. The second exercise, "Jetzt schreib wie diese Leute früher waren und was sie hatten," asks you to describe people in the past.
- The first character looks at a picture of her younger self and says: "Früher war ich jung und sexy." (In the past, I was young and sexy.)
- The second character, an old man with a cane, thinks about himself as a young soccer player.
Based on the images, write 2-3 sentences for each character describing how they were or what they had in the past. Use war/waren and hatte/hatten.
- For the woman: You can add more details. Früher war sie schlank. Sie hatte lange Haare. (What else?)
- For the man: How was he? What did he have? Früher war er... Er hatte...
Answer Key for the Dialogue:
(1) warst, (2) hatten, (3) war, (4) hatte, (5) war, (6) hatte, (7) war, (8) waren, (9) waren, (10) war, (11) war, (12) hatten, (13) war, (14) hatte, (15) war, (16) war
Key Takeaways
Great job today! You've tackled a crucial nuance of spoken German that will make you sound much more natural.
- The Exception: While the Perfekt is the standard for spoken past, the verbs sein and haben are exceptions.
- The Rule: Always use the Präteritum forms—war (was/were) and hatte (had)—when talking about past states or possessions in conversation.
- The Conjugation: Remember the key pattern: ich war, du warst, er/sie/es war and ich hatte, du hattest, er/sie/es hatte. The first and third-person singular forms are the same.
In our next lesson, we will continue building on your ability to narrate past events. We will learn how to use the words als and wenn to distinguish between a single event in the past ("when I was a child") and repeated events ("whenever I visited my grandma"). This will connect perfectly with what you've learned today, as you'll often say things like, "Als ich in der Schule war..." (When I was in school...).