In German, the past tense is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the infinitive form of the verb. The endings are as follows:
- -te for regular verbs
- -te or -ete for irregular verbs
Regular Verbs
For regular verbs, the past tense is formed by adding the following endings to the infinitive:
- -te for verbs that end in -en
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
- -te for verbs that end in -eln
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
- -te for verbs that end in -eln
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
- -te for verbs that end in -eln
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
- -te for verbs that end in -ern
Examples:
- lieben (to love) -> liebte (loved)
- kochen (to cook) -> kochte (cooked)
- arbeiten (to work) -> arbeitete (worked)
- spielen (to play) -> spielte (played)
- schlafen (to sleep) -> schlief (slept)
- essen (to eat) -> aß (ate)
Irregular Verbs
For irregular verbs, the past tense is formed by adding the following endings to the infinitive:
- -te for strong verbs
- -ete for weak verbs
Examples:
- sein (to be) -> war (was)
- haben (to have) -> hatte (had)
- werden (to become) -> wurde (became)
- gehen (to go) -> ging (went)
- tun (to do) -> tat (did)
- lesen (to read) -> las (read)
- schreiben (to write) -> schrieb (wrote)
- sprechen (to speak) -> sprach (spoke)
- sehen (to see) -> sah (saw)
- hören (to hear) -> hörte (heard)
Note: Some verbs have an irregular past tense form that does not follow any of the above rules. These verbs are called suppletive verbs.
Examples:
- bringen (to bring) -> brachte (brought)
- denken (to think) -> dachte (thought)
- dürfen (to be allowed to) -> durfte (was allowed to)
- können (to be able to) -> konnte (was able to)
- müssen (to have to) -> musste (had to)
- sollen (to be supposed to) -> sollte (was supposed to)
- wollen (to want to) -> wollte (wanted to)