Past tense As confusing as it may be, there are different kinds of past tense. Both simple past and present perfect are used to talk or write about the past. In German, present perfect is used mostly in less formal situations or while speaking, whereas simple past is used mostly when writing.
Past tense Mr. Smelly Fish won. Mr. Smelly Fish hat gewonnen. We did your job. Wir haben gute Arbeit gemacht. I ate something strange. Ich habe etwas Komisches gegessen.
Past tense I have just received a report. Ich habe gerade eine Meldung erhalten. The Potato has been training hard. Die Kartoffel hat hart trainiert. The Hap-peas have won. Die Hap-peas haben gewonnen.
Past tense Exceptions are verbs like ‘sein’ and ‘haben’ and modal verbs, which tend to be used in simple past in both speaking and writing.
Past tense It was an amazing race. Es war ein unglaubliches Rennen. I was a very fast runner. Ich war ein richtig schneller Läufer.
Join us again!