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I. Theory and definitions: The Perfect tense in German

The Perfect tense in German

Mr. Puddle: That’s right ! Viel luck! :)

Mr. Puddle: You ONLY need to remember that the MOVEMENT  to a certain place/ direction  and the change of the state (falling asleep) requires “sein”.

• Where did I go to?

• What did you make?

• When did he die?

• When did we arrive?

• What questions did you ask?

• What did they find?

See the translations:

Questions

• I went to the cinema yesterday.

• You made dinner last week.

• He/she/it died one yer ago.

• We arrived in Germany last month.

• You asked all the questions

• They found the documents in the office.

      We build the perfect tense as it follows: 

*separable verbs attach the particle to the participle: eingeschlafen, aufgewacht

Mr. Puddle: By learning this list (link), I created it specially for you to use it when you need to know the participles.

Miss Purrfect: : Now I know! I can use “haben” if I eliminate the movement verbs and think of verbs that ask for accusative objects or reflexive verbs.

It’s easy to use “haben” if you eliminate the movement verbs and think of verbs that ask for accusative objects or reflexive verbs.

Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!

      We build the perfect tense as it follows: 

You ONLY need to remember that the MOVEMENT  to a certain place/ direction  and the change of the state (falling asleep) requires “sein”.

Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!

We use “haben” for:

✔️  Verbs that (can) take an accusative object:

I habe das Video gesehen.  

*We’ve already learned the rule of the accusative by asking

“What did I see?”

✔️ Reflexive verbs: sich beschweren über  (we’ll learn them soon)

Er hat sich beschwert.  

He complained.

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

 We use  “sein” for:

✔️ Verbs of movement, that don’t take an accusative object: gehen, fahren, ankommen

✔️ Verbs that suggest the change of the state: sterben, aufwachen, einschlafen

First, what is the past participle in German?

✔️  It’s the same past participle we know from English: “broken”, “done”, “forgotten” at the present perfect: “I have already heard her story”

✔️  In German there are are certain rules for the past participle:

It sounds unnatural for natives not to use these verbs in the imperfect tense when talking about past events, you should learn them by heart!  !

Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!

See the translations:

Sentences

✔️   Practical examples. After you break-down the sentences and understand better how it works, test your knowledge and try to translate them.

V. Let's practice! - The Perfect tense

Mr. Puddle: *Gelesen, “lesen” is an irregular verb and gets

-en at the past participle.

Mr. Puddle: The perfect tense is used a lot in the spoken language or informal contexts. Have you got this one?

Miss Purrfect:  For me? Danke! I also forgot how to use haben and sein, tho..

Miss Purrfect: : How do I figure out which is regular, irregular or mixed?

Miss Purrfect:  Ich habe das gelest!

IV. Purrrfection explained! - The Perfect tense

✔️ Perfect tense is challenging

✔️ The good news: you already know how to form half of it - by adding sein/haben,  depending on the verb (either is a movement verb, a reflexive verb or a verb asking for a direct object)

✔️ The so-and-so news: the past participles should be learned by heart. You can use this list, specially created by Mr. Puddle for you,  with all the most common participles you need to know (link pdf - când am timp îl fac, trebuie sa ne gandim la un template pentru pdf-uri)

III.  Tips & Tricks : How to learn them easily? - The Perfect tense

II.  Practical examples - The Perfect tense

Have you ever wondered how to talk casually to your friends in German,  about what happened last week or an important event from your life? Last lesson, we’ve learned the Imperfect past. The difference between these two is that, even if they both reffer to the past, the Imperfect one is formal (and would be weird to use it in a common talk with a friend!) while the Perfect tense is used informal ( and would be rude using it in a CV or on a dialogue with someone important). Let’s see!

This tense describes:

✔️  An action already completed in the past 

✔️  An action finished in the past, likely to happen in the future ( daily activities such as washing dishes, meeting friends, watching tv)

The perfect tense is:

✔️  As usage, the English “past simple” in German 

✔️  As form, the English “present perfect”

✔️  Used mostly in the spoken language, emails or informal letters

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Here's the perfect place for animal lovers and German learners!

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