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Flip to reveal answersdas Präteritum (Imperfekt)
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All 14 Flashcards — Simple past (Präteritum)
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Question
das Präteritum (Imperfekt)
Answer
the simple past — the one-word, written/narrative past tense
Question
wohnen → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich wohnte (I lived) — weak verb: stem + -te
Question
machen → er/sie (Präteritum)
Answer
er/sie machte (he/she made) — ich and er forms are identical
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arbeiten → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich arbeitete (I worked) — extra -e- after a -t/-d stem
Question
gehen → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich ging (I went) — strong verb: vowel change, no ending
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kommen → er (Präteritum)
Answer
er kam (he came) — strong verb, vowel change
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sein → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich war (I was) — irregular, used even in speech
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haben → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich hatte (I had) — irregular, used even in speech
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können → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich konnte (I could / was able to) — modal, no umlaut
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wollen → ich (Präteritum)
Answer
ich wollte (I wanted) — modal verb in the past
Question
When do you use the Präteritum?
Answer
For written, connected past narratives and reports, fairy tales/biographies/news — and the everyday past of sein, haben and the modal verbs.
Question
Weak vs strong in the Präteritum?
Answer
Weak verbs add -te (wohnen → wohnte); strong verbs change the stem vowel and take NO ending in the ich/er form (gehen → ging).
Question
Why is „gehte“ wrong?
Answer
gehen is a strong verb, so it never takes the -te marker; the Präteritum is the vowel-change form „ging“.
Question
konnte or könnte?
Answer
„konnte“ is the Präteritum (past) of können; „könnte“ is the Konjunktiv II („would be able to“). Don't confuse the past with the conditional.
Read the notes
Full study notes for Simple past (Präteritum)
Topic 3.2 hub
Past tenses
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German B exam skills
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