What tense is Perfekt in German?
present perfect
The perfect tense, also called present perfect (Perfekt), is a past tense. We use it to speak about actions completed in the recent past. In spoken German, the present perfect tense is often used instead of the past tense.
What are the 6 tenses in German?
In the German language, there are six main verb tenses:
- Present (Präsens)
- Present perfect (Perfekt)
- Past simple (Imperfekt/Präteritum)
- Past perfect (Plusquamperfekt)
- Future (Futur I)
- Future perfect (Futur II)
What is the difference between Perfekt and Präteritum?
Perfekt is mostly used in spoken language, dialogues, and business and friendly correspondence in emails and messengers. In other words, it is the past spoken tense. Präteritum is the past tense for writing and texts.
Does German have moods?
German verbs also have 3 moods: the indicative mood , the subjunctive mood, and the imperative mood. Moods express the speaker’s attitude toward what s/he is saying. While the indicative mood uses all 6 verb tenses, the subjunctive uses only 4 verb tenses, and the imperative has only 1 form.
How do you write Perfekt tense?
To form the perfect tense, you need three parts:
- A subject. The subject is the person or thing who does the verb.
- An auxiliary verb. This is either haben (to have) or sein (to be).
- A past participle. This tells you what action is happening in the past, like played or listened.
Do Germans use Präteritum?
The Präteritum is equivalent to the English Simple Past tense, so to speak. But usually, the Präteritum is not used in everyday language in German. It is rather used as a literary language. Germans commonly opt for the Perfekt in their speech in order to refer to the past – which will be discussed in my upcoming post.
What is Konjunktiv I and II?
Konjunktiv I is used for the 2nd and 3rd person singular and 2nd person plural, the Konjunktiv II for the 1st person singular and the 1st and 3rd person plural to avoid confusion. We can also use the Konjunktiv II to express a wish or desire, to make conditional sentences or to make special, polite phrases.
What verbs take Haben and Sein Perfekt?
Now you need to know when you use these two auxiliary verbs. You use haben with transitive verbs and sein with intransitive verbs ….sein.
| Infinitive | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| schwimmen | ich bin geschwommen | I swam |
| fahren | ich bin gefahren | I travelled |