Past perfect tense (Plusquamperfekt) in German
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In German, as in English, the past perfect tense (Pluscuamperfekt) is used, to describe a happening in the past, that took place previous to another happening in the past. It is constructed in the same way as the present perfect tense (Perfekt), except the fact, that the auxiliary verbs of haben oder sein is in the simple past form.
For example:
In this example, both actions took place in the past, but the practicing was terminated before the girl wrote her test.
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The formation is exactly the same as with the present perfect, but with the simple past form of one of the auxiliaries sein or haben.
To use the German past perfect you need the simple past form of sein or haben and the participle II.
sein | haben | |
---|---|---|
ich | war | hatte |
du | warst | hattest |
er/ sie/ es | war | hatte |
wir | waren | hatten |
ihr | wart | hattet |
sie/ Sie | waren | hatten |
The auxiliaries you find above are conjugated irregularly. Try to keep them in your mind and learn them by heart.
The typical construction of the past participle of a weak verb, looks le following way:
ge- + infinitive sten + -t
Infinitive | Verb stem | Participle |
---|---|---|
leben (to live) | leb- | gelebt |
lachen (to laugh) | lach- | gelacht |
fragen (to ask) | frag- | gefragt |
Find some example sentences below:
The past participle of strong verbs is formed by adding the perfix ge- and the ending -en:
Infinitive | Verb stem | Participle |
---|---|---|
sprechen (to speak) | sprech- | gesprochen |
lesen (to read) | les- | gelesen |
sehen (to see) | seh- | gesehen |
Here are some examples:
To make sure you know when to use sein and when to use haben, have a look at the chapter about the present perfect in German, where the difference and the usage situations are described.
In this lesson you have learned about the past perfect tense in the German language. Try our exercises to improve your ability of forming the past perfect tense.
Fill in the missing verbs in the past perfect tense (remember: simple past of sein/ haben + participle II). Choose between sein and haben.
Recap
1. Sein and participle II
We use the auxiliary verb sein:
verbs of movement (without direct object): gehen, laufen, rennen, fahren,... : Wir sind in seinen Garten gegangen. verbs that describes changes in the situation: einschlafen, aufwachen,... : Sie ist aus ihren Träumen aufgewacht. bleiben, sein, werden: Es ist ihm gelungen.
2. Haben and participle II
We use the auxiliary verb haben:
verbs with and without direct object: Stefanie hat ihr Zimmer aufgeräumt. Sie hat aufgeräumt. reflexive verbs: Stefanie hat sich verändert.
1. lesen (to read)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
2. laufen (to run)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
3. lernen (to learn)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
4. sein (to be)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
Fill in the missing verbs in the past perfect tense (remember: simple past of sein/ haben + participle II). Choose between sein and haben.
Recap
1. Sein and participle II
We use the auxiliary verb sein:
verbs of movement (without direct object): gehen, laufen, rennen, fahren,... : Wir sind in seinen Garten gegangen. verbs that describes changes in the situation: einschlafen, aufwachen,... : Sie ist aus ihren Träumen aufgewacht. bleiben, sein, werden: Es ist ihm gelungen.
2. Haben and participle II
We use the auxiliary verb haben:
verbs with and without direct object: Stefanie hat ihr Zimmer aufgeräumt. Sie hat aufgeräumt. reflexive verbs: Stefanie hat sich verändert.
1. lesen (to read)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
2. laufen (to run)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
3. lernen (to learn)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
4. sein (to be)
Ich
Du
Er/ sie/ es
Wir
Ihr
Sie
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Learning a foreign language is a beautiful and awe-inspiring journey which is not strange to me.
Growing in Europe and living in Canada has shaped my thinking abilities to see beyond the surface of individual’s potential to study. It remodeled my senses in a special way to be able to respond with tact and compassion to the needs of my students. In the same time it taught me the value of persistence and creativity. These abilities have helped me to master the art of teaching. Every student makes me a better friend, family member and a person.
So far, I've helped different age groups to converse freely, to read, understand and love both English and Bulgarian. Beside that, my students not just improve their grades at school. Some of them became English teachers themselves.
No two students are exactly alike. That's why I mostly use personalized learning method. It builds a learning experience that addresses the unique abilities of each student.
Another method of teaching that I use is Learning by experiment. In that way students learn by doing. I create experiences for them to see the concepts in action. I found out that students tend to remember better when they see and then discuss what they learn from what they saw.
Beside these methods you will enjoy Modeling, Mistakes, Feedback and one of my top methods: Lesson Objective Transparency. When I clearly state my lesson goals and write it on the board, then you will feel relax because you will know what you are working towards.
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I will support you during your learning experience and adapt to your learning tempo.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books (Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen,...).
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Dear Silvia, thank you very much!
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Hallo :) My name is Mihaela and I was born in Switzerland. I have a Bachleor and Master degree as German teacher and more then 5 years experience.
I love languages, because of that I speak also Croatian and English. :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, writing, pronunciation and vocabulary.
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar. Or we can learn whatever you need, because I will always adapt to your needs. :)
I will support you during your learning experience and adapt to your learning tempo.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books (Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen,...).
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Hallo :) My name is Mihaela and I was born in Switzerland. I have a Bachleor and Master degree as German teacher and more then 5 years experience.
I love languages, because of that I speak also Croatian and English. :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, writing, pronunciation and vocabulary.
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar. Or we can learn whatever you need, because I will always adapt to your needs. :)
I will support you during your learning experience and adapt to your learning tempo.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books (Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen,...).
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Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
I would like to help you to master the German language. You will get your personal online lesson via Skype.
If you are interested in learning this world language, just contact me –
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
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Learning a foreign language is a beautiful and awe-inspiring journey which is not strange to me.
Growing in Europe and living in Canada has shaped my thinking abilities to see beyond the surface of individual’s potential to study. It remodeled my senses in a special way to be able to respond with tact and compassion to the needs of my students. In the same time it taught me the value of persistence and creativity. These abilities have helped me to master the art of teaching. Every student makes me a better friend, family member and a person.
So far, I've helped different age groups to converse freely, to read, understand and love both English and Bulgarian. Beside that, my students not just improve their grades at school. Some of them became English teachers themselves.
No two students are exactly alike. That's why I mostly use personalized learning method. It builds a learning experience that addresses the unique abilities of each student.
Another method of teaching that I use is Learning by experiment. In that way students learn by doing. I create experiences for them to see the concepts in action. I found out that students tend to remember better when they see and then discuss what they learn from what they saw.
Beside these methods you will enjoy Modeling, Mistakes, Feedback and one of my top methods: Lesson Objective Transparency. When I clearly state my lesson goals and write it on the board, then you will feel relax because you will know what you are working towards.
Please, be assured you won’t regret giving me the opportunity to help you!
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I offer personalized lessons, tailored to your goals and learning pace. All teaching materials are designed by me and adjusted to the specific needs of each student, ensuring a dynamic and effective learning experience.
Join me to make rapid progress and enjoy learning Portuguese!
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Highly-experienced TEFL certified business English teacher and interview coach specializing in one-to-one tailored classes to your level. With over 7 years of English teaching and coaching experience in leading companies in Spain such as PWC, Deloitte, Telefonica, Vodafone, Ogilvy & Mather as well as the Spanish Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Development.
Level-up your business English or prepare for that interview with customised 60-hour Zoom or Skype sessions.
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This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hallo :) My name is Mihaela and I was born in Switzerland. I have a Bachleor and Master degree as German teacher and more then 5 years experience.
I love languages, because of that I speak also Croatian and English. :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, writing, pronunciation and vocabulary.
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar. Or we can learn whatever you need, because I will always adapt to your needs. :)
I will support you during your learning experience and adapt to your learning tempo.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books (Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen,...).
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she is very flexible about rescheduling the classes. she gives a lot of exercises that fit my level and make sure to correct me if I miss pronouncing some words or have difficulty to read them.
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