THE CONVERSATIONAL PAST WHEN TO USE AND HOW TO FORM IT REGULAR VERBS
The “Present Perfect” Tense is also called in German “the Conversational Past” tense because it is so often used in speaking about past events. It consists of a helping verb and a past participle. In FORM and sometimes in meaning it corresponds to the English present perfect tense. Compare: “I have bought a car.” “Ich habe ein Auto gekauft.”
The Past Participle is formed by dropping the en and replacing it with a t. Add ge- to the beginning.
ge mach en t
ge spiel en t
What is the Past Participle for each of the following verbs: hören leben wohnen sagen schauen gehört gelebt gewohnt gesagt geschaut
If a verb ends with ieren, there is no ge- at the beginning telefonier en t
What is the Past Participle for each of the following verbs: studieren fotografieren kontrollieren studiert fotografiert kontrolliert
If a verb begins with an inseparable prefix do not add ge-. Some inseparable prefixes are: be er ge besuch en t erzähl en t gehör en t
What is the Past Participle for each of the following verbs: gebrauchen erklären benutzen gebraucht erklärt benutzt
If a verb has a separable prefix the ge- goes between the prefix and the main stem of the verb. ein ge kaufen kauft
What is the Past Participle for each of the following verbs: abholen zuhören aufsetzen abgeholt zugehört aufgesetzt
The Conversational Past is formed by using haben or sein plus the past participle. Haben or sein is in the normal verb position. The past participle is last.
Ich spiele Tennis. -------habe gespielt Ich habe Tennis gespielt.
Am Freitag mache ich nichts. -------habe gemacht Am Freitag habe ich nichts gemacht.
Rewrite the following sentences in Conversational Past: 1. Wir lernen Deutsch. Wir haben Deutsch gelernt. 2. Wann fragst du Martin? Wann hast du Martin gefragt? 3. Er kauft bei Aldi ein. Er hat bei Aldi eingekauft.
Sein is used when the verb is intransitive – one that cannot have a direct object. Usually intrasitive verbs indicate a change of location or condition. However, some just are.
Some common intransitive verbs are: wandern joggen reisen segeln
Change these short sentences to Conversational Past tense. Ich segle. Wir joggen. Er wandert. Du reist. Ich bin gesegelt. Wir sind gejoggt. Er ist gewandert. Du bist gereist.
I have done something I was doing something I did something Perfekt = Conversational Past tense Meanings: I have done something I was doing something I did something
THE MEANING OF THE GERMAN CONVERSATIONAL PAST DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT, THE ADVERB OF TIME.
Zum Beispiel (for example): Ich habe das Buch schon gekauft. (=I have already bought the book.) Ich habe das Buch gestern gekauft. (=I bought the book yesterday.)
We do not say in English: “I have bought the book yesterday.” In summary . . . .
das Partizip = past participle (the word that has ge in German) das Hilfsverb = auxiliary verb (haben or sein in German)
Make up 3 original sentences in German in Conversational Past tense Make up 3 original sentences in German in Conversational Past tense. You can use the verbs listed below. lernen telefonieren abholen schauen einkaufen wandern besuchen reisen gehören