Das Perfekt
The Past (Perfect) Tense
This is used to describe what has
happened in the PAST
Examples in English
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I have eaten pizza
I have watched Big Brother on the TV
I have surfed the net
I have had a shower
I have listened to the Radio One
Roadshow
• I have fed my cat
• I have invited my friends to a party
In English we often omit the “have”:
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I saw Spiderman at the cinema
I went to the disco last night
I went roller-skating at the weekend
I helped my Dad with the barbeque
I went bowling with the family
I ate a Big Mac as a treat
IN GERMAN the “have” is always included.
There are two ingredients needed
for the Past Tense:
• I have eaten pizza
• I have surfed the net
The “have” is called the:
AUXILIARY VERB
The “eaten”, “surfed” are called the:
PAST PARTICIPLES
i.e. the Past forms of the verbs to eat, to surf
Auxiliary Verb “haben”
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ich habe
du hast
er hat
sie hat
es hat
wir haben
ihr habt
sie haben
Sie haben
I have
You (fam. sing) have
He has
She has
It has
We have
You (fam. pl.) have
They have
You (polite) have
The Past Participle
To make the Past Participle
1. Take the INFINITIVE OF THE VERB
(i.e. the form in the dictionary)
e.g. spielen = to play, basteln = to do DIY
2. Put a “GE” on the front:
spielen – GEspielen
basteln – GEbasteln
3. Remove the final “en” or “n” and add a “T”
GEspielen – GEspielT
GEbasteln – GEbastelT
Make PAST PARTICIPLES from:
tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
1. kochen = to cook
Make PAST PARTICIPLES from:
tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
1. kochen = to cook
kochen – GEkochen – GEkochT = cooked
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
2. malen = to paint
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
2. malen – GEmalen – GEmalT = painted
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
3. lernen = to learn
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
3. lernen – GElernen – GElernT = learnt
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
4. wohnen = to live
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
4. wohnen – GEwohnen – GEwohnT - lived
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
5. kaufen = to buy
Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
5. kaufen – GEkaufen – GEkaufT = bought
AUXILIARY VERB +
PAST PARTICIPLE
=
PERFECT TENSE
Ich habe gekocht
Ich habe gelernt
Ich habe gewohnt
Ich habe gemalt
Ich habe gekauft
ACHTUNG!
• Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add
an ET to the end of the PAST
PARTICIPLE in order to make
pronunciation easier:
arbeiten = to work
GEarbeiten – GEarbeitET – worked
ACHTUNG!
• Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add
an ET to the end of the PAST
PARTICIPLE in order to make
pronunciation easier:
regnen = to rain
GEregnen – GEregnET – rained
ACHTUNG!
• Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add an ET
to the end of the PAST PARTICIPLE in order to
make pronunciation easier:
baden = to have a bath
GEbaden – GEbadET – had a bath
ACHTUNG
• Verbs beginning with:
BE, EMPF, ENT, ER, MISS, VER, ZER
DO NOT add a GE to front of the
PAST PARTICIPLE
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
•besuchen = to visit
Ich habe besucht
I have visited
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
•bezahlen = to pay
Ich habe bezahlt
I have paid
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
•verkaufen = to sell
Ich habe verkauft
I have sold
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
Also verbs ending in “ieren” do
not add a “GE” to the front of the
past participle:
reparieren = to repair
Ich habe repariert.
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
Also verbs ending in “ieren” do
not add a “GE” to the front of the
past participle:
telefonieren = to telphone
Ich habe telefoniert.
WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
• Verbs which make their PAST
PARTICIPLE by adding a GE to the front
of the verb and a T to the end are called
WEAK VERBS or REGULAR VERBS
(they behave exactly according to a
pattern)
e.g. Ich habe gespielt – I have played
WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
• Even verbs which DO NOT add a GE to
the front of the PAST PARTICIPLE but
which do end in T are called WEAK or
REGULAR:
• E.g.
Ich habe besucht – I have visited
Ich habe mich rasiert – I have had a
shave
Have you mastered it?
• Now have a go at the Perfect Tense Weak
Verb worksheet.
RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
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A:
1. Ich habe gefragt.
2. Ich habe gehoert.
3. Ich habe gesagt.
4. Ich habe gespart.
RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
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A:
5. Ich habe gelacht.
6. Ich habe gesammelt.
7. Ich habe getraeumt.
8. Ich habe gemachtt.
RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
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B:
9. Ich habe geantwortet.
10. Ich habe geoeffnet.
11. Ich habe gearbeitet.
12. Ich habe gewartet.
RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
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C:
13. Ich habe bestellt.
14. Ich habe telefoniert.
15. Ich habe vorbereitet.
16. Ich habe repariert
How do I know if a verb is weak?
• Look up the verb “spielen” in the Malvern
Guide dictionary.
• What information is given to you?
WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
• spielen v reg. to play
This means that the verb is Weak or
Regular.