Das Perfekt

The Past (Perfect) Tense

This is used to describe what has
happened in the PAST
 Examples in English
• I have eaten pizza
• I have watched Big Brother on the TV
• I have surfed the net
• I have had a shower
• I have listened to the Radio One
Roadshow
• I have fed my cat
• I have invited my friends to a party
In English we often omit the “have”:
• I saw Spiderman at the cinema
• I went to the disco last night
• I went roller-skating at the weekend
• I helped my Dad with the barbeque
• I went bowling with the family
• I ate a Big Mac as a treat

IN GERMAN the “have” is always included.

 There are two ingredients needed
for the Past Tense:
• I have eaten pizza
• I have surfed the net

The “have” is called the:

AUXILIARY VERB

The “eaten”, “surfed” are called the:

PAST PARTICIPLES
i.e. the Past forms of the verbs to eat, to surf
 Auxiliary Verb “haben”
• ich habe I have
• du hast You (fam. sing) have
• er hat He has
• sie hat She has
• es hat It has
• wir haben We have
• ihr habt You (fam. pl.) have
• sie haben They have
• Sie haben You (polite) have
 The Past Participle
To make the Past Participle
1. Take the INFINITIVE OF THE VERB
(i.e. the form in the dictionary)
e.g. spielen = to play, basteln = to do DIY
2. Put a “GE” on the front:
spielen – GEspielen
basteln – GEbasteln
3. Remove the final “en” or “n” and add a “T”
GEspielen – GEspielT
GEbasteln – GEbastelT
 Make PAST PARTICIPLES from:
tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

3. kochen = to cook
 Make PAST PARTICIPLES from:
tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

3. kochen = to cook
kochen – GEkochen – GEkochT = cooked
 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

2. malen = to paint
 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

2. malen – GEmalen – GEmalT = painted

 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

3. lernen = to learn
 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

3. lernen – GElernen – GElernT = learnt

 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

4. wohnen = to live
 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

4. wohnen – GEwohnen – GEwohnT - lived

 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

5. kaufen = to buy
 Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced

5. kaufen – GEkaufen – GEkaufT = bought

 AUXILIARY VERB +
PAST PARTICIPLE
=
PERFECT TENSE
Ich habe gekocht
Ich habe gelernt
Ich habe gewohnt
Ich habe gemalt
Ich habe gekauft
 ACHTUNG!
• Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add
an ET to the end of the PAST
PARTICIPLE in order to make
pronunciation easier:

arbeiten = to work
GEarbeiten – GEarbeitET – worked
 ACHTUNG!
• Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add
an ET to the end of the PAST
PARTICIPLE in order to make
pronunciation easier:

regnen = to rain
GEregnen – GEregnET – rained
 ACHTUNG!
• Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add an ET
to the end of the PAST PARTICIPLE in order to
make pronunciation easier:

baden = to have a bath

GEbaden – GEbadET – had a bath
 ACHTUNG
• Verbs beginning with:

BE, EMPF, ENT, ER, MISS, VER, ZER

DO NOT add a GE to front of the

PAST PARTICIPLE
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE

• besuchen = to visit
Ich habe besucht
I have visited
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE

• bezahlen = to pay
Ich habe bezahlt
I have paid
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE

• verkaufen = to sell
Ich habe verkauft
I have sold
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
Also verbs ending in “ieren” do
not add a “GE” to the front of the
past participle:
reparieren = to repair
Ich habe repariert.
NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
Also verbs ending in “ieren” do
not add a “GE” to the front of the
past participle:
telefonieren = to telphone
Ich habe telefoniert.
 WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
• Verbs which make their PAST
PARTICIPLE by adding a GE to the front
of the verb and a T to the end are called
WEAK VERBS or REGULAR VERBS
(they behave exactly according to a
pattern)

e.g. Ich habe gespielt – I have played

 WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
• Even verbs which DO NOT add a GE to
the front of the PAST PARTICIPLE but
which do end in T are called WEAK or
REGULAR:

• E.g.
Ich habe besucht – I have visited
Ich habe mich rasiert – I have had a
shave
 Have you mastered it?
• Now have a go at the Perfect Tense Weak
Verb worksheet.
 RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
• A:
• 1. Ich habe gefragt.
• 2. Ich habe gehoert.
• 3. Ich habe gesagt.
• 4. Ich habe gespart.
 RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
• A:
• 5. Ich habe gelacht.
• 6. Ich habe gesammelt.
• 7. Ich habe getraeumt.
• 8. Ich habe gemachtt.
 RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
• B:
• 9. Ich habe geantwortet.
• 10. Ich habe geoeffnet.
• 11. Ich habe gearbeitet.
• 12. Ich habe gewartet.
 RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ?
• C:
• 13. Ich habe bestellt.
• 14. Ich habe telefoniert.
• 15. Ich habe vorbereitet.
• 16. Ich habe repariert
 How do I know if a verb is weak?
• Look up the verb “spielen” in the Malvern
Guide dictionary.

• What information is given to you?

 WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
• spielen v reg. to play

This means that the verb is Weak or

Regular.