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### Mixed verbs in the past tense

We have seen that regular verbs form the simple past (*Präteritum*) by adding *-te* to the stem, while irregular verbs change their core vowel and take no ending.

A third group of verbs combines both patterns. We call these **mixed verbs**. In the simple past, they change their stem vowel (like irregular verbs) **and** take the *-te* ending (like regular verbs).

Because they take the regular ending, their conjugations look exactly like those of regular verbs in the past tense:

| Pronoun | Ending | Example (*wissen* -> *wusste*) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ich / er / sie / es | -te | wusste |
| wir / sie / Sie | -ten | wussten |
| du | -test | wusstest |
| ihr | -tet | wusstet |

Let's look at how these mixed verbs are used to describe a classic mystery.

### Knowing in the past

To solve a case, detectives need to know things. Remember that German has two verbs for "to know": *wissen* (for facts) and *kennen* (for people or being familiar with something). Both are mixed verbs!
- *wissen* becomes *wusste*
- *kennen* becomes *kannte*

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### Thinking and bringing

Some mixed verbs change quite a bit in the past tense. For example, *denken* (to think) and *bringen* (to bring) both change their stem entirely so that they end in *-ach-*.
- *denken* becomes *dachte*
- *bringen* becomes *brachte*

{{item:873337}}

{{item:873344}}

### Naming, running, and burning

A very common pattern for mixed verbs is changing an *e* in the present tense to an *a* in the past tense. Notice how similar the following action verbs are when conjugated in the simple past:
- *nennen* (to name) becomes *nannte*
- *rennen* (to run) becomes *rannte*
- *brennen* (to burn) becomes *brannte*

{{item:873342}}

{{item:873346}}

{{item:873352}}

The simple past of mixed verbs (dachte, wusste)

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)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

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)

Question	Answer
the detective	der Detektiv
The detective didn't know the answer.	Der Detektiv wusste die Antwort nicht.
the inspector	der Inspektor
the murderer	der Mörder
to investigate	untersuchen
the alibi	das Alibi
Although the inspector knew the murderer, he investigated the alibi.	Obwohl der Inspektor den Mörder kannte, untersuchte er das Alibi.
the blood	das Blut
The murderer thought about the blood on the wall.	Der Mörder dachte an das Blut an der Wand.
The murderer ran into the forest, but the inspector brought the weapon into the laboratory.	Der Mörder rannte in den Wald, aber der Inspektor brachte die Waffe in das Labor.
the motive	das Motiv
The case was difficult, but the detective thought about the motive.	Der Fall war schwierig, aber der Detektiv dachte an das Motiv.
the clue	die Spur
We investigated the clues that the inspector named.	Wir untersuchten die Spuren, die der Inspektor nannte.
The detective knew the name, but he didn't know the murderer.	Der Detektiv wusste den Namen, aber er kannte den Mörder nicht.
The witness brought the weapon to the police.	Der Zeuge brachte die Waffe zur Polizei.
The murderer ran to the train station, although he knew the danger.	Der Mörder rannte zum Bahnhof, obwohl er die Gefahr kannte.
The villa was burning when the inspector thought about the witness.	Die Villa brannte, als der Inspektor an den Zeugen dachte.
the mystery	das Rätsel
The detective knew the puzzle and thought about the motive.	Der Detektiv kannte das Rätsel und dachte an das Motiv.
The blood on the carpet brought the first clue.	Das Blut auf dem Teppich brachte die erste Spur.
the shadow	der Schatten
The man in the shadow named the alibi for the puzzle.	Der Mann im Schatten nannte das Alibi für das Rätsel.
The perpetrator immediately ran into the shadow.	Der Täter rannte sofort in den Schatten.

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