Now and earlier
Use to describe how or where someone was, and for what someone had. These are past-tense forms of and . In everyday German they are very common: . The conjugated verb still goes second in a statement. These are simple past tense forms for earlier situations.
| Person | Was or were | Had |
|---|---|---|
Choose a state or possession
means before or in earlier times. means yesterday. Use with a description or location: . Use with a thing or a familiar noun phrase: , . Negate normally: , .
Ask about the past
Questions keep the same pattern as the present: , , Other completed actions will be taught with the perfect tense later. You do not need to memorise a separate simple-past paradigm for every verb here.
Früher war Jonas zehn Jahre alt.Jonas used to be ten years old.
Wir hatten keine Stühle.We had no chairs.
Heute ist Lotte zehn.Lotte is ten today.
Practice 1/5 · Finding words
Notice the useful forms
Tap the past-tense verb forms.
.
I was here and had a suitcase.
. .
You were tired. You had no time (several people).
.
We were in the café and were hungry.
. .
You were upstairs (several people). You had the key.
Practice 2/5 · The right form
Use the right person in the past
Choose the right word for the gap.
Ich gestern im Café.
I was in the café yesterday.
Du früher hier.
You were here before.
Wir müde.
We were tired.
Ihr im Keller.
You were in the cellar (several people).
Ich Hunger.
I was hungry.
Du eine rote Lampe.
You had a red lamp.
Wir keine Stühle.
We had no chairs.
Ihr viele Fotos.
You had many photos (several people).
Sie Lehrerin, Frau Brandt?
Were you a teacher, Mrs Brandt?
Was it a state or something someone had?
Choose the right word for the gap.
Jonas zehn Jahre alt.
Jonas was ten years old.
Hilde einen Sohn und eine Tochter.
Hilde had a son and a daughter.
Die Wohnung leer.
The flat was empty.
Ich hatte Tisch.
I had no table.
Practice 3/5 · Fill the gaps
Complete the conversation
Fill the gaps with the words from the box.
Du jung. Du lange Haare.
You were young. You had long hair.
Wir im Café. Wir Hunger.
We were in the café. We were hungry.
Ihr hier. Ihr den Schlüssel.
You were here (several people). You had the key.
Jonas zehn. Heute er achtundzwanzig.
Jonas was ten. Today he is twenty-eight.
Sie Lehrerin und viele Kinder in der Klasse.
You were a teacher and had many children in the class (polite).
Practice 4/5 · Building sentences
Put the message together
Put the words in order.
The flat used to be empty.
I had no table.
Did you have long hair?
Where were the chairs?
Practice 5/5 · In situations
Respond to the situation
Choose the right words for the situation.
Jonas says the flat used to be his. You check whether he lived there as a child.
You say:
Warst asks about an earlier state; als Kind is a useful time phrase.
Jonas says the flat used to be his. You check whether he lived there as a child.
You say:
Warst asks about an earlier state; als Kind is a useful time phrase.
A friend sees your furnished kitchen and asks about your first day in the flat. You had no table then.
You say:
Hatte places the missing table in the past.
A friend sees your furnished kitchen and asks about your first day in the flat. You had no table then.
You say:
Hatte places the missing table in the past.
Unit complete
