The Perfekt tense (also known as the present perfect tense) serves as the primary past tense in everyday conversation. This blog post aims to demystify the formation and application of the Perfekt tense, shedding light on its distinct usage.
When To use The Perfekt and Imperfect Tense in German
Before delving into the mechanics of Perfekt formation, it's essential to grasp its purpose. Unlike the present perfect in English, the Perfekt tense in German signifies completed actions in the past without an ongoing impact into the present. For ongoing actions, German employs the present tense, e.g.
Ich wohne seit 15 Jahren in Großbritannien
(I have been living in the UK for 15 years).
An intriguing distinction exists between Perfekt and Präteritum (simple past) tenses. The simple past in German finds its place in formal and written contexts, narrating events from a more distant past in a structured narrative. In contrast, Perfekt dominates informal conversations, narrating recent events that concluded at the time of speaking, establishing itself as the conversational past.
However, it's worth noting that native German speakers occasionally blur the lines between these tenses. This lapse extends even to educational materials, exemplified by a textbook's misapplication of tenses in a historical context. While such instances occur, understanding the prescribed usage is crucial for language learners.
When dealing with verbs like "haben," "sein," modal verbs, and set phrases like "es gibt," Präteritum is the norm. Although these verbs technically possess Perfekt forms, Präteritum is favoured. Notably, modal verbs in Perfekt entail three verbs (haben/sein + modal verb's past participle + main verb's infinitive), highlighting the preference for Präteritum.
sein — war (ist gewesen)
haben — hatte (hat gehabt)
können — konnte (hat gekonnt)
sollen — sollte (hat gesollt)
wollen — wollte (hat gewollt)
müssen — musste (hat gemusst)
dürfen — durfte (hat gedurft)
mögen — mochte (hat gemocht)
es gibt- es gab (es hat gegeben)
Now, let's delve into Perfekt formation.
How to Form the Perfekt Tense in German
The Perfekt is formed with an auxiliary verb (either "haben" or "sein") and the past participle of the main verb. The choice between using "haben" or "sein" as the auxiliary verb in the Perfekt tense depends on the main verb's transitivity and its meaning.
"Haben":
Most verbs take "haben" as the auxiliary verb in the Perfekt tense. Examples:
Ich habe das Buch gelesen. (I have read the book.)
Sie haben gestern Fußball gespielt. (They played soccer yesterday.)
"Haben" is used with transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object) and intransitive verbs indicating movement without a change of location.
"Sein":
Some verbs use "sein" as the auxiliary verb in the Perfekt tense, especially verbs of motion or change of state. Examples:
Ich bin nach Hause gegangen. (I have gone home.)
Sie ist eingeschlafen. (She has fallen asleep.)
"Sein" is typically used with intransitive verbs of motion (e.g., gehen, fahren, fliegen) and verbs indicating a change of state (e.g., fallen, einschlafen, sterben).
Additionally, some verbs related to location (e.g., bleiben, stehen) also take "sein" in Perfekt tense when indicating a change of location.
In short, when the main verb implies a change of location or state, use "sein". Otherwise, use 'haben".
Let's now consider the most common patterns for the past particles in German.
Regular Verbs (ge + stem + t/et)
Regular verbs bear a clear Perfekt signature: the addition of "ge" as a prefix to the verb. These verbs, with no stem changes, conclude with "t" unless the stem ends in "d" or "t," where "et" serves as the ending.
spielen - gespielt Example: Ich habe gestern Tennis gespielt.
arbeiten - gearbeitet Example: Letzte Woche hat sie nicht gearbeitet.
machen - gemacht Example: Hast du deine Hausaufgaben gemacht?
Irregular Verbs (ge + stem + en)
Irregular verbs maintain the "ge" prefix but introduce stem changes. Key patterns include:
fahren - gefahren Example: Ich bin zum Supermarkt gefahren.
laufen - gelaufen Example: Ich bin im Park gelaufen.
schlafen - geschlafen Example: Er hat nicht gut geschlafen.
Mixed Verbs (ge + stem change + t/et)
Mixed verbs combine regular and irregular elements, necessitating specific memorisation.
denken - gedacht Example: Er hat an seine Hausaufgaben gedacht.
bringen - gebracht Example: Er hat ihr einen Stift gebracht.
wissen - gewusst Example: Sie haben gewusst, dass Deutsch keine einfache Sprache ist.
Separable Verbs (prefix + ge + stem + t/et/en)
Separable verbs are often irregular and include prefixes. However, regular separable verbs exist and require dedicated learning.
ankommen - angekommen Example: Bist du in Lissabon angekommen?
fernsehen - ferngesehen Example: Wir haben gestern ferngesehen.
aufhören - aufgehört Example: Sie hat vor vielen Jahren mit dem Rauchen aufgehört.
Inseparable Verbs (without "ge")
Certain verbs, typically beginning with specific prefixes or ending in "-ieren," lack the "ge" in Perfekt formation.
bezahlen - bezahlt Example: Der Kellner hat die Rechnung bezahlt.
entscheiden - entschieden Example: Sie haben sich schnell entschieden.
verstehen - verstanden Example: Wir haben die Anweisungen verstanden.
Those are the rules and patterns one needs to learn. There is obviously quite a lot to take in. So when I cover this topic with students, I first do exercises practising the haben-sein distinction and then turn to exercises on both auxiliaries and participles so that they pick up the Perfekt form of the most common 60 verbs in German. From there on, it usually becomes fairly intuitive. So give this a lot of practice.
One question I get asked a lot is how to figure out whether a verb is regular or irregular. There are two rules of thumb. The first is to consider the conjugation of the verb in the present tense. If there is a stem change in the singular, it is not only an irregular verb in the present tense but often also irregular in the past.
e.g. fahren- er/sie/es fährt- gefahren
However, there are exceptions, such as the verb “gehen”, which is regular in the present tense but irregular in the past. So my second rule of thumb is to consider the English language. If there is a stem change in English from present to past, it is a strong indication that the verb may be irregular in German as well.
e.g. go-went - gehen- gegangen
Again, there are exceptions, such as
buy- bought - kaufen- gekauft.
So in situations where both rules of thumb let you down, you just have to memorise whether or not the verb is irregular.
In closing, mastering Perfekt tense involves practice, particularly in distinguishing between regular and irregular verbs. While general rules and patterns provide guidance, exposure to varied verbs in context reinforces understanding. Through consistent practice, Perfekt tense usage becomes an intuitive aspect of your German language journey.
If you’re interested to learn more common phrases in German, just follow the link to our German language blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte". There we also have posts on false friends in German and English, how to say busy in German, give you tips on how to avoid the most common mistakes in German and how to quickly improve your German.
