How to form the Perfekt (past) tense in German?

To form the past tense in German, you need the conjugated auxiliary verb (haben or sein) and the past participle of the verb, which comes at the end of the sentence. For example, if you want to say "I have gone", it would be:Ich bin (auxiliary verb) gegangen (past participle).In this case, because the action involves movement, you would use 'sein' over 'haben'. The past participle is formed by taking the infinitive of a verb, replacing the '-en' with '-t' and adding 'ge' at the start. As with most grammar, there are exceptions to this rule; certain verbs instead retain the '-en', and there are some that do not add a 'ge'. These rules are unfortunately just something you learn with time!

AA

Related German GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Translate the following sentence: Manchmal gehe ich mit meinen Frenden aus, damit wir ins Kino gehen oder ansonnsten einkaufen gehen koennen.


How do I form the perfect tense in German?


Explain the use of Imperfekt and Perfekt, and give one example each.


Name 4 types of transport and say which one you prefer and why.