The simple past (also called preterite) is a grammatical tense used to express something in the past. It is mostly used in written language, e.g. in newspaper articles and literature.
The verbs sein and haben, however, are often used in spoken language in the simple past tense too.
Present tense:
Simple past:
Here is a review of the present tense:
| Singular | |
| 1st person | ich bin |
| 2nd person | du bist |
| 3rd person | er/sie/es ist |
| Plural | |
| 1st person | wir sind |
| 2nd person | ihr seid |
| 3rd person | sie sind |
| Formal (singular and plural) | Sie sind |
The simple past is formed as follows:
| Singular | |
| 1st person | ich war |
| 2nd person | du warst |
| 3rd person | er/sie/es war |
| Plural | |
| 1st person | wir waren |
| 2nd person | ihr wart |
| 3rd person | sie waren |
| Formal (singular and plural) | Sie waren |
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Grammatical terms in German: das Präsens: The present is a verb tense. It is used when speaking about events, activities or situations that occur in the present or are ongoing. das Präteritum: The simple past is a verb tense. It is used in written language to describe events, activities or situations that happened in the past. The simple past of certain verbs, e.g. sein, is often also used in spoken language. |