2. Overview 1
The narrative past tense in German is often
called the simple past tense, presumably
because it does not use an auxiliary (helping)
verb.
It is used most often in formal, written German.
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3. Overview 2
With regular verbs, the narrative past tense is
formed by adding the following endings to the
stem of a verb:
ich - te wir - ten
du – test ihr - tet
er, sie, es – te sie – ten
Sie - ten
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4. Example 1
Ich kaufte ein Auto.
The subject of the sentence is ich, so you add
the ending te.
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5. Example 2
Du spieltest Minigolf.
The subject of the sentence is du, so you add the
ending test.
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6. Example 3
Er lernte abends Deutsch.
The subject of the sentence is er, so you add the
ending te.
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7. Example 4
Wir sagten nichts.
The subject of the sentence is wir, so you add
the ending ten.
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8. Example 5
Ihr hörtet keine Musik.
The subject of the sentence is ihr, so you add
the ending tet.
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9. Example 6
Machten sie keine Hausaufgaben?
The subject of the sentence is sie (they), so you
add the ending ten.
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10. Example 7
Bezahlten Sie schon?
The subject of the sentence is Sie (you, formal),
so you add the ending ten.
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11. Example 8
Harold und Jennifer besuchten Frau Maier.
The subject of the sentence is Harold und
Jennifer, so you add the ending ten.
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12. Example 9
Das Essen schmeckte köstlich.
The subject of the sentence is das Essen, so you
add the ending te.
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13. Example 10
Lara wartete nicht.
The subject of the sentence is Lara, so you add
the ending ete.
Note: As you probably noticed, when the stem
of the verb ends in t or d, you add an e to the
ending.
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14. Example 11
Wer lachte so laut?
The subject of the sentence is wer, so you add
the ending te.
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15. Example 12
Man rauchte nicht in der Schule.
The subject of the sentence is man, so you add
the ending te.
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