In this exercise, we'll practice when to use the spoken past and when to use the preterite in idiomatic German. It's hard, but it's fair and kind of sexy.
you thought we were done with it. You thought we’d left it behind. You thought it was past. But it’s not.
It’s back!!!
With a vengeance. And it’s hell bent on making you suffer…. the German Past Tense. Uh, I mean practice :). We did a laughable, puny work-out session two weeks ago, right after we talked about when to use written past in spoken. But the topic is so important for daily conversation we totally have to do a big work out session for this. And now is the perfect time because we’ve forgotten pretty much everything. It’s this method that we developed here called SRS and it’s based on much, much research. Super scienfitic. So yeah, today we’ll do a HUUUUGE work-out on speaking idiomatic spoken past. Here’s how it works :
I’ll give you a sentence in present tense and you have to put it into the proper past tense. The solutions are right next to the example in the audio, so you also get to train your listening comprehension. And I’ve decided to NOT put the translations right under the sentences, so you ALSO get to train your reading comprehension and your ability to guess from context. So the work-out is basically like doing dead-lifts and crunches at the same time while being on a treadmill :).
If you want to refresh your memory, you can jump to the article about the theory right here:
Oh, and here are the most common irregular verbs that use written past in spoken German
***
finden – fand – gefunden
kommen – kam – gekommen
fallen – fiel – gefallen
gehen – ging – gegangen
sehen- sah – gesehen
stehen – stand – gestanden
liegen – lag – gelegen
denken – dachte – gedacht.
wissen – wusste – gewusst.
werden – wurde – geworden
So, let’s jump right in. Viel Spaß :)
Past Tense Work Out
Put the blue verbsinto the idiomatic past tense (sometimes, two options are possible).
The play button:listen to the solution The green button: shows the solution The “?” button: shows the English translation (I used past tense in the English for the most part) The text field: write down your version if want to compare it to the solution, NOT automatic :)
1.
Ich gehe am Montag ins Ballet.
I’ll go to the ballet on Monday.
Ich bin am Montag in Ballet gegangen.
2.
“Wie findest du den Film?” “Geht so.”
“How did you like the movie?” “Was okay.”
“Wie fandestdu den Film?” “Ging so.”
3.
Thomaskommtnicht zur Party, weil es ihm nicht so gut geht.
Thomas didn’t come to the party, because he wasn’t feeling very well.
Thomas istnicht zur Party gekommen, weil es ihm nicht so gut ging.
4.
Das Angebotkommtmir irgendwie komischvor.
That offer seemed somehow strange/fishy to me.
Das Angebotkammir irgendwie komischvor.
5.
Mariamag Spinat eigentlich nicht.
Originally, Maria didn’t like spinach.
Mariamochte Spinat eigentlich nicht.
6.
Thomasfindetseine Mitbewohnerin sexy.
Thomas found his flatmate sexy.
Thomasfandseine Mitbewohnerin sexy.
7.
Ich kannmich nicht an seinen Namen erinnern.
I couldn’t remember/think of his name.
Ich konntemich nicht an seinen Namen erinnern.
8.
Maria willwissen, wann Thomas nach Hause kommt.
Maria wanted to know what time Thomas came home.
Maria wolltewissen, wann Thomas nach Hause gekommen ist.
9.
Wie kommst du auf diese Idee?
How did you get that idea?
Wie bist du auf diese Idee gekommen?
10.
Denkst du, ich putze die Wohnung alleine.
Did you think I’d clean the flat alone?
Dachtest du, ich putze die Wohnung alleine.
***
11.
Thomas findet eine Wohnung
Thomas has found an apartment.
Thomas hat eine Wohnung gefunden.
12.
In der Gebrauchsanweisungsteht, dass man das Handy erst mal komplett aufladen muss.
In the user manual it said that you have to fully charge the phone first.
In der Gebrauchsanweisungstand, dass man das Handy erst mal komplett aufladen muss.
13.
Timist sauer, weil er nicht Computer spielen darf.
Tim was angry, because he wasn’t allowed to play computer.
Timwar sauer, weil er nicht Computer spielen durfte.
14.
Kannst du dich bei dem Krach konzentrieren?
Were you able to/could you concentrate with that noise?
Konntest du dich bei dem Krach konzentrieren?
15.
Worum gehtes in der Lektion?
What was this lecture about?
Worum ginges in der Lektion?
16.
Ich weißnicht, wie man das sagt.
I didn’t know how to say that.
Ich wusstenicht, wie man das sagt.
17.
“Wie gefälltdir dein Deutschkurs?” “Ist ok. Die Leute sind nett, aber der Lehrer gehtmir ein bisschen auf die Nerven.”
“How did you like the German course?” “It was okay. The people were nice but the teacher got on my nerves a bit.”
“Wie hatdir dein Deutschkurs gefallen?” “War ok. Die Leute waren nett, aber der Lehrer gingmir ein bisschen auf die Nerven/… ist… gegangen.”
18.
Ichbinvon dem Buch enttäuscht.
I was disappointed by the book.
Ichwarvon dem Buch enttäuscht.
19.
Mariasiehtheute noch besser aus, als sonst.
Maria looked even better than usual today.
Mariasahheute noch besser aus, als sonst.
20.
In der Bar darfman nicht rauchen.
You weren’t allowed to smoke in the bar.
In der Bar durfteman nicht rauchen.
21.
Ich finde den Kuchen viel zu süß.
I found the cake much too sweet.
Ich fand den Kuchen viel zu süß.
22.
Maria ist sehr gestresst, weil sie schnell eine Wohnung finden muss.
Maria was very stressed because she had to find an apartment.
Maria war sehr gestresst, weil sie schnell eine Wohnung finden musste.
23.
Die Katzeist sauer, weil das Kind sie nicht in Ruhe lässt.
The cat was pissed because the child didn’t leave her in peace/alone.
Die Katzewar sauer, weil das Kind sie nicht in Ruhe gelassen hat.
24.
Wir wollen zu dem Konzert gehen, aber dasgeht nicht, weil die Tickets schon ausverkauft sind.
We wanted to go to the concert but it wasn’t possible/didn’t work, because the tickets were already sold out.
Wir wollten zu dem Konzert gehen, aber dasging nicht, weil die Tickets schon ausverkauft waren.
25.
Gibtes in dem Hotel wenigstens eine Sauna?
Was there at least a sauna at the hotel?
Gabes in dem Hotel wenigstens eine Sauna?
26.
Seine ChefingibtThomas einen Spezialauftrag.
His boss gave Thomas a special task.
Seine ChefinhatThomas einen Spezialauftrag gegeben.
***
Whew, half time. Time for a coffee break :)
**
27.
Von der frischen Luft wird Maria wieder wach.
The fresh air made Maria (more) awake again.
Von der frischen Luft wurde Maria wieder wach.
28.
Weißt du, dass Thomas in einem Film mitspielt?
Did you know that Thomas was playing in a movie?
Wusstest du, dass Thomas in einem Film mitgespielt hat?
29.
Ich weiß, dass ich nichts weiß.
I knew that I knew nothing.
Ich wusste, dass ich nichts wusste. Ich hab gewusste, dass ich nichts wusste.
30.
Ich komme total spät nach Hause, weil ich Überstunden machen muss.
I came home really late, because I had to work overtime/extra hours.
Ich bin total spät nach Hause gekommen, weil ich Überstunden machen musste.
31.
Ich gebemeine Pin dreimal falsch ein.
I entered my pin wrongly three times.
Ich habemeine Pin dreimal falsch eingegeben.
32.
Heutekommtein Paket für dich.
A package came for you today.
Heute kam ein Paket für dich.
33.
“Wobistdu?” “Ich bin auf Klo.
“Where were you?” “I was on the toilet.”
“Wo warstdu?” “Ich war auf Klo.
34.
Ich willunbedingt schwimmen gehen.
I badly wanted to go swimming.
Ich wollteunbedingt schwimmen gehen.
35.
Maria wirdam Dienstag 30.
Maria turned 30 on Tuesday.
Maria wurdeam Dienstag 30. Maria istam Dienstag 30 geworden.
36.
Ich habe Probleme mit den Artikeln. Ichkannmir nie merken, ob etwas männlich, weiblich oder sächlich ist.
I had problems with the articles. I could never remember if something is masculine, feminine or neuter.
Ich hatte Probleme mit den Artikeln. Ichkonntemir nie merken, ob etwas männlich, weiblich oder sächlich ist.
37.
In dem Film gibtes viele Szenen, wo ich weggucken muss.
In the movie, there were many scene where I had to look away.
In dem Film gabes viele Szenen, wo ich weggucken musste.
38.
Was genau steht in der E-Mail?
What exactly did it say in the email?
Was genau stand in der E-Mail?
39.
Dasistdas erste Mal, dass wir zusammen was trinken gehen.
That was the first time that we went to have a drink together.
Das wardas erste Mal, dass wir zusammen was trinken gegangen sind.
40.
Ich habe überhaupt keine Lust, Hausaufgaben zu machen.
I had no desire to do homework.
Ich hatte überhaupt keine Lust, Hausaufgaben zu machen.
41.
Ich verstehe nicht, warum Maria nicht kommen will.
I didn’t understand why Maria didn’t want to come.
Ich habe nicht verstanden, warum Maria nicht kommen wollte.
42.
Esliegt vor allem an meinem Chef, dass die Stimmung im Büro heute so schlecht ist.
It was mainly my boss’s fault that the mood/atmosphere in the office was so bad today.
Eslag vor allem an meinem Chef, dass die Stimmung im Büro heute so schlecht war.
43.
Ich seheeine Sternschnuppe.
I’ve seen a falling star today.
Ich habeeine Sternschnuppe gesehen. (falling star)
44.
Ich magdas Buch nicht besonders.
I didn’t like the book very much.
Ich mochtedas Buch nicht besonders.
45.
Der Lehrer übersiehtden Fehler.
The teacher didn’t see the mistake.
Der Lehrer hatden Fehler übersehen.
46.
Ich willeigentlich heute nichts trinken.
Originally, I didn’t want to drink (alcohol) today.
Ich wollteeigentlich heute nichts trinken.
47.
Marias Suppe sieht aus wie Kotze.
Maria’s soup looked like vomit.
Marias Suppe sah aus wie Kotze.
***
You made it :)
Toll gemacht. How’d you do? Did you get all of them right? Or just some? Or none? Did you have any problems with the word ordering? Are there examples where you’re confused about the past I chose? And did you enjoy doing this? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it and make you a past tense master. I hope you enjoyed this, have a great week and see you next time.
“Wie bist du auf diese Idee gekommen?” In this sentence, why do we use spoken past? Isn’t it kind of metaphorical sense of “kommen”? So nobody is walking/going anywhere. My guess is that in German in such sentences, “kommen” is closer to the actual movement: like you came to do this idea. Like “Ich bin aufgewacht” – we use bin because we treat this almost as movement.
Actually, the main reason is that it’s the “du”-version. That one trends more toward spoken past and can sound a bit stilted/theatrical in written past.
For “ich”, I use both versions in daily life:
Ich kam nicht auf den Namen.
Ich bin nicht auf den Namen gekommen.
But yeah, you’re right that my system kind of fails here. It’s just a guide, not a 100% rule.
Anonymous
4 months ago
Ich weiß nicht, wie man das sagt. *
g.orbeliani
1 year ago
Emanuel du bist ein besterLehrer auf den Erde und in den Welt❗ Bleib so bitte
please correct my sentence if I have some grammatic mistake :)
“Du bist der beste Lehrer auf der Erde und der Welt.”
wallisgreen
1 year ago
I enjoyed it and only missed 5 1/3. I got confused with aussehen and got both of those wrong. I understood more than when I have had German courses before so your way of explaining things worked for me. I still have a lots of things to continue to get straight though. I liked very much the way the quiz was set up …you could hear it, see it and then also read a translation. That was very well done. Vielen Dank
Psypsikat9
1 year ago
Hey Emanuel, I got some correct, without guessing, which really surprised me. Excellent exercise for listening skills if one does not get caught up in scoring. My son almost fell off his chair, laughing, when I read the last one to him.
Scoring really doesn’t matter :)!!! It’s meant to be done a few times over the course of a couple of weeks.
Desdra
1 year ago
Oh dear, I can’t see any comments on any page. I can leave comments on any page except the front page where you asked people to post if they were having problems. It doesn’t give me any way to post a comment on the front page. :(
Desdra
1 year ago
Fyi – when I try to subscribe to this discussion I get a “subscription fault” message.
Grammatically, it’s fine and it would be perfect in a first person novel. For spoken German I find it sounds a bit high brow. Like, an aristocratic lady or a professor.
Verne
1 year ago
Hi- I was already doing horribly, trying to remember the spoken/written verb logic when it doesn’t apply. And then I didn’t think the solution to number 32 didn’t match the recording. So I gave up at that point. It’s too hard for me anyway, at this point. Will come back to it later and redo the whole past tense series. Was I wrong about 32?
Sorry to hear that you left frustrated. That’s not a good exercise layout then. You’re right about 32, of course. Actually both versions are idiomatic there, so I think that’s why I messed it up. I’m planning to add smaller exercise within the posts for the past tense series, so you can practice bit by bit. I don’t know how long that’ll take because I’m also editing the articles at the same time and trimming some fat, but once it’s done, it should be much more digestible.
Dipannita
1 year ago
had few mistakes but more than 40 were correct so am happy :) Thanks to you
Amelad
1 year ago
Loved this type of exercise, would be really useful to have more of these :)
I have just one question regarding 29: Ich hab gewusste, dass ich nichts wusste.
Is it just a typo the ‘e’ at the end of gewusst, or is there a reason for it?
That’s just idiomatic for comparisons in German. In this case, either way is fine but if the “wie”-part gets longer, it’s better to treat them as two separate sections. For more details check out my article on “Comparisons in German”. I talk about the logic of this there.
Megan
2 years ago
When do we use the helping verb “sein” versus “haben?”
A summary of which helping verb to use: Use a form of ‘sein’ when the main verb involves movement or a change of location or condition. Use a form of ‘haben’ in all other circumstances.
Ich bin gefahren. (movement) Er ist gestorben. (condition) Ich habe gegessen. Er hat gelernt. (no movement or condition change).
Thank you for your time and effort to produce this whole lesson. I have several questions about this exercise.
#16 can I say “Ich habe nicht gewusst, wie man das sagt.”? Instead of ” Ich wusste nicht…”?
#17 why is it “Wie hat dir dein Deutschkurs gefallen?” Instead of “Wie hast dir…”?
#32 the audio clip says “Heute ist ein Paket für dich gekommen” but the text solution says “Heute kam ein Paket für dich.” Can I use either like stehen and liegen?
The closest translation is “above all”. Which is pretty much the same as “in front of all”, just that one is vertical and the other one horizontal :) Hope that makes sense :)
Eduardoalo
2 years ago
How can I get the answers, because audio doesnt work aymore.
You know I wonder if the Written verbs that are used in spoken are not all explained how can someone know what is the abstract meaning of something? Because you can look for the factual meaning but if its not stated you have no idea how to implement an abstract meaning of a verb in a conversation.
It’s essentially two units: “heute” (time) and “noch besser” (how). The trend is that time comes first. But for a more detailed look that goes beyond trends check out my series on word order.
Oh, you can’t make these up. A comprehensive dictionary lists pretty much all translations (factual and abstract) and otherwise you’ll pick it up from books and in conversation. And then, once you know that a verb has “two sides”, then you can worry about which past to use :). The ones I covered in this series are the most common ones, though.
“Haben” as a stand alone is generally used with the written past and the prefix versions tend to stick to that.
– … weil sie so ein kurzes Kleid angehabt hat.
This wouldn’t be wrong, but it doesn’t sound very good. Hope that helps!
Anne
3 years ago
If I understand correctly, your explanation is : “it’s the human condition”, so as a part of the reality we live in, it would make no sense and even fall under “political correctness” not to show it just because we don’t like it. Whether it’s the human condition to be jealous because of skirt’s lenght or not, is not even a relevant question, because in any case we’re not supposed to accept it as normal. It’s a dangerous argument to use to justify thoughts or actions. The trigger is important, and a very different matter than the feelings it can provoke. Otherwise you could just write sentences like “Thomas is disgusted because Maria has black friends”, or “Thomas is angry because a gay man just talked to him”. We can’t justify every behavior by saying that the feeling provoking it (“jealous”, “disgusted”, “angry”) is human and ignore what you call the “trigger”. I’m not sure it would be so natural for you and for your readers to read this kind of sentence without any reflexive text signaling it’s a problematic behavior. You never know who reads you and how you can perpetuate and justificate problematic points of view like sexism, homophia, racism. And I don’t want to live in a world where men think it’s an acceptable result of the “human’s condition” to be jealous because my skirt is too short.
Hello everyone,
“Wie bist du auf diese Idee gekommen?” In this sentence, why do we use spoken past? Isn’t it kind of metaphorical sense of “kommen”? So nobody is walking/going anywhere. My guess is that in German in such sentences, “kommen” is closer to the actual movement: like you came to do this idea. Like “Ich bin aufgewacht” – we use bin because we treat this almost as movement.
Great question!
Actually, the main reason is that it’s the “du”-version. That one trends more toward spoken past and can sound a bit stilted/theatrical in written past.
For “ich”, I use both versions in daily life:
But yeah, you’re right that my system kind of fails here.
It’s just a guide, not a 100% rule.
Ich weiß nicht, wie man das sagt. *
Emanuel du bist ein besterLehrer auf den Erde und in den Welt❗ Bleib so bitte
please correct my sentence if I have some grammatic mistake :)
Danke für das tolle Feedback :).
Here the sentence with small corrections
“Du bist der beste Lehrer auf der Erde und der Welt.”
I enjoyed it and only missed 5 1/3. I got confused with aussehen and got both of those wrong. I understood more than when I have had German courses before so your way of explaining things worked for me. I still have a lots of things to continue to get straight though. I liked very much the way the quiz was set up …you could hear it, see it and then also read a translation. That was very well done. Vielen Dank
Hey Emanuel, I got some correct, without guessing, which really surprised me. Excellent exercise for listening skills if one does not get caught up in scoring. My son almost fell off his chair, laughing, when I read the last one to him.
Scoring really doesn’t matter :)!!! It’s meant to be done a few times over the course of a couple of weeks.
Oh dear, I can’t see any comments on any page. I can leave comments on any page except the front page where you asked people to post if they were having problems. It doesn’t give me any way to post a comment on the front page. :(
Fyi – when I try to subscribe to this discussion I get a “subscription fault” message.
Oh… damn it, I have to look into that :/. Thanks for telling me!!
I changed this sentence to past tense a different way than you did. I’d like to know if this is completely wrong or just another way to say it:
Ich habe nicht verstanden, warum Maria nicht kommen wollte.
Ich verstand nicht, warum…
Thanks!
Grammatically, it’s fine and it would be perfect in a first person novel.
For spoken German I find it sounds a bit high brow. Like, an aristocratic lady or a professor.
Hi- I was already doing horribly, trying to remember the spoken/written verb logic when it doesn’t apply. And then I didn’t think the solution to number 32 didn’t match the recording. So I gave up at that point. It’s too hard for me anyway, at this point. Will come back to it later and redo the whole past tense series. Was I wrong about 32?
Sorry to hear that you left frustrated. That’s not a good exercise layout then.
You’re right about 32, of course. Actually both versions are idiomatic there, so I think that’s why I messed it up.
I’m planning to add smaller exercise within the posts for the past tense series, so you can practice bit by bit. I don’t know how long that’ll take because I’m also editing the articles at the same time and trimming some fat, but once it’s done, it should be much more digestible.
had few mistakes but more than 40 were correct so am happy :) Thanks to you
Loved this type of exercise, would be really useful to have more of these :)
I have just one question regarding 29: Ich hab gewusste, dass ich nichts wusste.
Is it just a typo the ‘e’ at the end of gewusst, or is there a reason for it?
Thanks for your awesome work as always :)
Ups, yeah that’s a typo :). Sorry for the confusion!!
Hello! “Marias Suppe sah aus wie Kotze.” Why does the ‘aus’ not go to end of sentence here?
That’s just idiomatic for comparisons in German. In this case, either way is fine but if the “wie”-part gets longer, it’s better to treat them as two separate sections.
For more details check out my article on “Comparisons in German”. I talk about the logic of this there.
When do we use the helping verb “sein” versus “haben?”
Have you read the whole series on past tense? You’ll find all the answers here :)
https://yourdailygerman.com/german-past-tense-2/
A summary of which helping verb to use: Use a form of ‘sein’ when the main verb involves movement or a change of location or condition. Use a form of ‘haben’ in all other circumstances.
Ich bin gefahren. (movement) Er ist gestorben. (condition)
Ich habe gegessen. Er hat gelernt. (no movement or condition change).
Well put, that’s a good guideline (though there needs to be some fine print to catch all instances)
Is something wrong with the spoken text on # 7?
North German vs Central Swiss pronunciation. Alles Klar.
Wait, I’m not sure what you mean?
Thank you for your time and effort to produce this whole lesson. I have several questions about this exercise.
#16 can I say “Ich habe nicht gewusst, wie man das sagt.”? Instead of ” Ich wusste nicht…”?
#17 why is it “Wie hat dir dein Deutschkurs gefallen?” Instead of “Wie hast dir…”?
#32 the audio clip says “Heute ist ein Paket für dich gekommen” but the text solution says “Heute kam ein Paket für dich.” Can I use either like stehen and liegen?
Vielen dank
Great questions!!
#16 Absolutely! Both are idiomatic, though I feel like “wusste” is a bit more common, at least in my area.
#17 The DEutschkurs is the subject.
“Der Deutschkurs gefällt dir.” (present tense)
Literally, it’s the German course pleasing you.
#32 Wait, what do you mean stehen or liegen :)?
Actually, “ist gekommen” is more idiomatic. No idea why I put the other one in the translations.
Es liegt vor allem an meinem Chef, dass die Stimmung im Büro heute so schlecht ist. How is vor used as an idea of aheadness here?
The closest translation is “above all”. Which is pretty much the same as “in front of all”, just that one is vertical and the other one horizontal :)
Hope that makes sense :)
How can I get the answers, because audio doesnt work aymore.
It’s with the new system now, so you can show the solution in writing. Refresh the page to see it :)
Thank you :)
You know I wonder if the Written verbs that are used in spoken are not all explained how can someone know what is the abstract meaning of something? Because you can look for the factual meaning but if its not stated you have no idea how to implement an abstract meaning of a verb in a conversation.
In number 19 after the verb sah it states ” heute noch besser” how do I know what order should they have when writing the sentence?
It’s essentially two units: “heute” (time) and “noch besser” (how).
The trend is that time comes first. But for a more detailed look that goes beyond trends check out my series on word order.
Oh, you can’t make these up. A comprehensive dictionary lists pretty much all translations (factual and abstract) and otherwise you’ll pick it up from books and in conversation.
And then, once you know that a verb has “two sides”, then you can worry about which past to use :).
The ones I covered in this series are the most common ones, though.
Thanks helpful as always friend.
I did really good 2 or 3 mistakes , but overall am proud of myself and big thanks to you
Yeah!!! Well done :)!!
Great excercise.
Only one thing confuses me. Number 31. “Warum ist Thomas so sauer?”
“Weil Maria so ein kurzes Kleid anhat.” (anhaben- to wear)
Why do we use the Written past here for the verb anhaben?
“Haben” as a stand alone is generally used with the written past and the prefix versions tend to stick to that.
– … weil sie so ein kurzes Kleid angehabt hat.
This wouldn’t be wrong, but it doesn’t sound very good.
Hope that helps!
If I understand correctly, your explanation is : “it’s the human condition”, so as a part of the reality we live in, it would make no sense and even fall under “political correctness” not to show it just because we don’t like it.
Whether it’s the human condition to be jealous because of skirt’s lenght or not, is not even a relevant question, because in any case we’re not supposed to accept it as normal. It’s a dangerous argument to use to justify thoughts or actions.
The trigger is important, and a very different matter than the feelings it can provoke. Otherwise you could just write sentences like “Thomas is disgusted because Maria has black friends”, or “Thomas is angry because a gay man just talked to him”. We can’t justify every behavior by saying that the feeling provoking it (“jealous”, “disgusted”, “angry”) is human and ignore what you call the “trigger”.
I’m not sure it would be so natural for you and for your readers to read this kind of sentence without any reflexive text signaling it’s a problematic behavior. You never know who reads you and how you can perpetuate and justificate problematic points of view like sexism, homophia, racism. And I don’t want to live in a world where men think it’s an acceptable result of the “human’s condition” to be jealous because my skirt is too short.