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### The Spoken Past Tense (Perfekt)

In conversational German, almost all past events are described using the *Perfekt* (present perfect) tense.

To form the *Perfekt*, you need two parts:
1. A conjugated helper verb—usually **haben** (to have)—in the normal verb position (Position 2).
2. A **past participle** at the very end of the sentence.

### Forming Regular Past Participles

Regular verbs (also called "weak" verbs) form their past participle by adding **ge-** to the beginning of the verb stem, and **-t** to the end.
- **machen** (to do) -> **ge** + mach + **t** -> **gemacht**
- **putzen** (to clean) -> **ge** + putz + **t** -> **geputzt**

Notice how the helper verb takes Position 2, while the past participle sits at the very end of the sentence, creating a "bracket" around the other information.

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### Verbs Ending in -t or -d

If a verb stem ends in **-t** or **-d** (like *arbeiten* or *reden*), add **-et** to the end to make it easier to pronounce.
- **arbeiten** (to work) -> **gearbeitet**
- **reden** (to talk) -> **geredet**

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### Word Order

If you start a sentence with a time word like **gestern** (yesterday), the helper verb **haben** stays in Position 2, pushing the subject to Position 3. The past participle remains firmly at the end.

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The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
the task	die Aufgabe
already	schon
I have already done the task.	Ich habe die Aufgabe schon gemacht.
still / yet	noch
not yet	noch nicht
Haven't you done the task yet?	Hast du die Aufgabe noch nicht gemacht?
just / just now	gerade
to clean	putzen
We have just cleaned the bathroom.	Wir haben das Bad gerade geputzt.
Peter has already cleaned the kitchen.	Peter hat die Küche schon geputzt.
the day before yesterday	vorgestern
to cry	weinen
The child cried a lot the day before yesterday.	Das Kind hat vorgestern viel geweint.
The baby just cried.	Das Baby hat gerade geweint.
We worked without you the day before yesterday.	Wir haben vorgestern ohne dich gearbeitet.
about (a topic)	über
the project	das Projekt
to talk	reden
Did they talk about the project?	Haben sie über das Projekt geredet?
to build	bauen
We built the bed for him.	Wir haben das Bett für ihn gebaut.
He hasn't built the house yet.	Er hat das Haus noch nicht gebaut.
Yesterday we played on the balcony.	Gestern haben wir auf dem Balkon gespielt.
My father showed me the car.	Mein Vater hat mir das Auto gezeigt.
I was tired and didn't cook.	Ich war müde und habe nicht gekocht.
The boss talked about the project yesterday.	Der Chef hat gestern über das Projekt geredet.
no longer, not any more	nicht mehr
I don't work here any more.	Ich arbeite hier nicht mehr.
The man no longer lives in the city.	Der Mann wohnt nicht mehr in der Stadt.
not at all	gar nicht
The book is not good at all.	Das Buch ist gar nicht gut.
I didn't sleep at all.	Ich habe gar nicht geschlafen.

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