Präteritum (Simple Past) – Telc B1

Präteritum is the simple past tense. In spoken German, Perfekt is more common; Präteritum is often used in written language and with common verbs (sein, haben, werden, wissen, modal verbs).

Examples: Ich war gestern krank. (I was ill yesterday.) Er hatte keine Zeit. (He had no time.) Sie wollte Deutsch lernen. (She wanted to learn German.)

Formation: For regular (weak) verbs: stem + -te + personal ending (e.g. machen → ich machte). Irregular (strong) verbs have their own forms (e.g. gehen → ging, schreiben → schrieb).

Tip: At B1 you need to recognise and use Präteritum especially for sein, haben, werden, and modals (können, müssen, wollen, etc.).