Deutsch — the Präteritum (simple past)
The Präteritum is the simple (one-word) past tense, used above all in written and narrative German. Weak verbs add a -te- suffix (machte), while strong verbs change their stem vowel (ging, kam).
How it works
Weak verbs form the Präteritum from the stem + -te + personal endings (machen → machte, machtest). Strong verbs change the stem vowel (ablaut) and take the same endings (gehen → ging, kommen → kam). The endings are: -, -st, -, -en, -t, -en; the ich- and er/sie/es-forms are identical. The most frequent verbs sein and haben are irregular: war and hatte.
Examples
| Person | machen (weak) | gehen (strong) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | machte | ging |
| du | machtest | gingst |
| er/sie/es | machte | ging |
| wir | machten | gingen |
| ihr | machtet | gingt |
| sie/Sie | machten | gingen |
Good to know
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt (ich habe gemacht) is preferred for most verbs, and the Präteritum can sound bookish. The big exceptions are sein, haben and the modal verbs: their Präteritum forms war, hatte, konnte, wollte are perfectly natural even in speech.