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Questions & Answers about Gestern bin ich die Treppe hinuntergegangen und habe die Lampe getestet.
Why is bin used as the auxiliary verb in the first clause instead of habe?
In German, the perfect tense normally uses haben, but verbs that express a change of location or state (so‑called “motion verbs” like gehen, kommen, fahren, etc.) take sein as the auxiliary. Since hinuntergehen describes movement, you say bin hinuntergegangen.
How does the separable verb hinuntergehen form its past participle hinuntergegangen?
Separable verbs split into a prefix (here hinunter-) and a base verb (gehen). In the perfect participle, you reattach the prefix behind the ge‑ of the participle:
• Prefix + ge‑ + stem + -en
• hinunter‑ + ge‑ + gangen → hinuntergegangen
Why does die Treppe appear in the accusative case here?
Even though gehen is intransitive, when you specify movement along or onto something (a path, a staircase), German treats that as a directional object and takes the accusative. So die Treppe (Akk.) tells us “down the stairs,” not “on the stairs.”
Why is Gestern placed at the very beginning of the sentence?
German is a V2‐language (verb‐second). When you start with an adverb (like Gestern), the finite verb still comes in second position. Placing Gestern first emphasizes the time (“yesterday”).
Why is the past participle gegangen at the end of the clause?
In German perfect‐tense main clauses, the conjugated auxiliary (here bin) occupies the second position, while the past participle is “kicked” to the very end of its clause.
Why does the second clause use habe instead of bin?
Because testen is a regular transitive verb (you can test something). Transitive verbs in the perfect take haben. Hence: habe die Lampe getestet.
Could you have used the simple past ging instead of bin … gegangen?
Yes. In written narrative or formal speech, especially in northern Germany, you might see:
• Gestern ging ich die Treppe hinunter und testete die Lampe.
But in everyday spoken German, the perfect (bin … gegangen, habe … getestet) is by far more common.
Why is there an und before habe? Doesn’t the verb have to stay in second position?
Coordinating conjunctions like und don’t count as one of the “main” positions affecting V2 order. After und, you treat the second clause just like any main clause: the finite verb (habe) sits in second position immediately after und.