Irregular Past Participles
You already know that the Perfekt tense uses a helper verb (like haben) in Position 2, with a past participle at the very end of the sentence.
While regular verbs end in -t, many common verbs are irregular (also called "strong" verbs). Irregular verbs usually still start with the prefix ge-, but they end in -en.
- essen (to eat) -> gegessen
- geben (to give) -> gegeben
| The dinner was delicious, but I didn't eat much. | Das Abendessen war lecker, aber ich habe nicht viel gegessen. |
| The waiter was good and we gave him a tip. | Der Kellner war gut und wir haben ihm Trinkgeld gegeben. |
Vowel Changes in the Stem
For many irregular verbs, the vowel in the middle of the word changes in the past participle. Because of these changes, it's best to memorize the past participle along with the verb.
- trinken (to drink) -> getrunken
- sitzen (to sit) -> gesessen
- nehmen (to take) -> genommen
| The soup was spicy and I drank a lot of water. | Die Suppe war scharf und ich habe viel Wasser getrunken. |
| At lunch we sat outside. | Beim Mittagessen haben wir draußen gesessen. |
At the Restaurant
When talking about your meals, you will often need utensils: das Messer (knife), die Gabel (fork), and der Löffel (spoon). Notice how they combine with our new past participles to describe a dining experience.
| The waiter gave us a knife and a fork. | Der Kellner hat uns ein Messer und eine Gabel gegeben. |
| Did he take the fork or the spoon? | Hat er die Gabel oder den Löffel genommen? |
| I ate the soup with the spoon, but didn't drink the wine. | Ich habe die Suppe mit dem Löffel gegessen, aber den Wein nicht getrunken. |
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