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Year 10 - German

Neu in Deutschland: 'hatte', 'war', 'es gab', imperfect tense singular & plural

People and lifestyle: Identitätsprobleme

Unit Summary

This unit introduces perfect tense irregular past participles, and consolidates translation of the German perfect tense with the English 'did' and 'have done' The simple past of haben, sein, es gab, weak and strong verbs are revisited in singular persons, and plural persons added.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use the perfect and imperfect tenses to understand the recent experiences of a young person arriving to live and study in Germany.

Key Notes

  • Use the imperfect forms 'hatte', 'war', 'gab' to talk about the past instead of the perfect tense.
  • Imperfect weak verbs are formed like 'lernen'.
  • Imperfect strong verbs take the same endings as 'liegen'.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • perfect tense: German two-word past tense using either 'haben' or 'sein' with a past participle
  • imperfect tense: German single-word past tense, also called the simple past

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The imperfect tense is never used in spoken German.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

Use the imperfect forms 'hatte', 'war', 'gab' to talk about the past instead of the perfect tense. Imperfect weak verbs are formed like 'lernen'.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'perfect tense'

German two-word past tense using either 'haben' or 'sein' with a past participle. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: The imperfect tense is never used in spoken German. Correction: The most common irregular verbs 'haben' and 'sein' are very common in speaking, along with 'es gab'. Other verbs in the imperfect mainly appear in written texts.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 10 German guide library.